UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA 
AT  LOS  ANGELES 


LATIN  SATIRICAL  WRITING 
SUBSEQUENT  TO  JUVENAL 


BY 


ARTHUR  H.  WESTON 


A  THESIS 

Presented  to  the  Faculty  of  the  Graduate  School  of 

Yale  University  in  Candidacy  for  the  Degree  of 

Doctor  of  Philosophy 


PRESS  OF 

THE  NEW  ERA  PRINTING  COMPANY 

LANCASTER.  PA. 


I9I5 


EX    LIBRIS 

THE    UNIVERSITY 

OF    CALIFORNIA 


FROM  THE  FUND 

ESTABLISHED  AT  YALE 

IN  1927  BY 

WILLIAM  H.  CROCKER 

OF  THE  CLASS  OF  1882 

SHEFFIELD  SCIENTIFIC  SCHOOL 

YALE  UNIVERSITY 


LATIN    SATIRICAL   WRITING 
SUBSEQUENT    TO   JUVENAL 


LATIN  SATIRICAL  WRITING 
SUBSEQUENT  TO  JUVENAL 


BY 


ARTHUR  H.  WESTON 


A  THESIS 

Presented  to  the  Faculty  of  the  Graduate  School  of 

Yale  University  in  Candidacy  for  the  Degree  of 

Doctor  of  Philosophy 


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By  Arthur  H.  Weston 


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PREFACE 

This  volume  represents  in  a  somewhat  enlarged  and  revised 
form  a  dissertation  submitted  to  the  Faculty  of  the  Graduate 
School  of  Yale  University,  in  candidacy  for  the  degree  of 
Doctor  of  Philosophy,  in  1911.  The  subject  for  investiga- 
tion was  suggested  to  me  by  Professor  G.  L.  Hendrickson, 
who  has  given  me  much  valuable  advice  and  criticism,  both 
in  general  and  in  particular.  I  am  very  glad  to  have  this 
opportunity  to  publicly  acknowledge  my  indebtedness,  and 

express  my  gratitude  and  appreciation,  to  him. 

A.  H.  W. 


J  f^n^  f; 


CONTENTS 

Page 

Introduction i 

Minor  Poets  Contemporary  with  Juvenal ii 

Apuleius 14 

Tertullian 16 

Commodianus 26 

Arnobius 31 

Ausonius 37 

Tetradius 41 

Sulpicia 42 

Prudentius 43 

Carmen    contra    Paganos 57 

Carmen  ad  Senatorem 61 

Paulinus  of  Nola  64 

Cresconius 69 

Ambrosius 70 

Hieronymus 82 

Claudian loi 

S,  Paulini  Epigramma 121 

Orientius 125 

Rutilius    Namatianus 129 

Lucillus 135 

Apollinaris    Sidonius 136 

Secundinus 140 

Lampridius 141 

Salvianus 143 

Conclusion 155 

Bibliography 158 

Index 164 


vu 


LATIN  SATIRICAL  WRITING 
SUBSEQUENT    TO   JUVENAL 


LATIN  SATIRICAL  WRITING  SUB- 
SEQUENT TO  JUVENAL 


INTRODUCTION 

§  I 

In  undertaking  a  discussion  of  the  satirical  element  in  the 
Latin  literature  of  the  later  Roman  Empire,  we  are  con- 
fronted at  the  very  outset  with  the  necessity  of  establishing 
what  we  are  to  understand  by  our  terminology.  What  is 
"satire"?     What  can  we  properly  call  "satirical"  writing? 

The  origin  and  early  history  of  the  word  satiira,  satira, 
is  somewhat  obscure,  and  scholars  differ  as  to  when  it  actually 
came  into  use  in  the  sense  in  which  it  was  afterwards  employed. 
The  earliest  occurrence  in  extant  literature  is  in  Horace, 
Serm.,  II,  i,  i,  and  here  it  is  plain  that  Horace  used  it  in  a 
generic  sense,  not  referring  specifically  to  a  certain  individual 
production  of  his,  but  to  the  general  body  of  his  literary  work 
of  a  certain  kind.^ 

The  Roman  grammarians  distinguished  between  two  types 
of  satire,  one,  the  mere  mixture  of  prose  and  verse,  or  of 
different  kinds  of  verse,  in  one  poem,  and  the  other,  the  criti- 
cal, censorious  type  of  literature  written  by  such  masters  as 
Horace,  Persius,  and  Juvenal.  A  definition  found  in  the 
De  Poetis  of  Suetonius,  and  again  in  the  work  of  Diomedes,  a 
grammarian  of  the  fourth  century  A.  D.,  runs  as  follows: 
''Satira  is  the  name  given  in  Roman  circles  nowadays  to  a 
censorious  poem  {carmen  malediciim) ,  one  written  to  criticise 
men's  vices,  in  the  manner  of  the  Old  Comedy,  such  as  Lucilius 

^  Yet  Serm.,  II,  6,  17  shows,  by  the  use  of  the  plural,  that  he  was 
beginning  to  apply  the  generic  word  to  the  single  work. 

I 


2         LATIN    SATIRICAL    WRITING    SUBSEQUENT   TO   JUVENAL 

and  Horace  and  Persius  wrote.  And  formerly,  a  poem  that 
was  made  up  of  different  kinds  of  verse  was  called  satira, 
such  as  Pacuvius  and  Ennius  wrote.  "^  We  shall  concern 
ourselves  with  that  type  of  satire  first  mentioned,  the  one 
"ad   carpenda   hominum   vitia  .  .  .  compositum." 

In  investigating  the  Roman  idea  of  satire,  we  soon  meet 
what  is  apparently  an  inconsistency,  a  contradiction.  Satire 
is  spoken  of  as  a  Roman  invention.  "Satira  quidem,"  says 
Quintilian,  "tola  nostra  est."^  Horace  refers  to  Lucilius  as 
the  "inventor"  of  satire,*  and  states  again  that  he,  LuciHus, 
was  the  first  to  dare  to  write  this  sort  of  poetry.^  Yet,  on 
the  other  hand,  Horace,  after  speaking  of  the  Greek  poets  of 
the  Old  Comedy  and  the  attitude  they  took  in  their  comedies 
toward   contemporary   life,    says 

Hinc  omnis  pendet  Lucilius,  hosque  secutus 
Mutatis  tantum  pedibus  numerisque,  etc.® 

And  again  in  Serm.,  I,  lo,  16-17,  the  same  close  connection 
between  Lucilius  and  the  poets  of  the  Old  Comedy  is  indi- 
cated. How  are  these  discrepancies  to  be  reconciled? 
Both  statements  are  true.  The  attitude  taken  by  Roman 
satire  toward  persons  or  manners  or  vices  did  find  its  proto- 
type in  the  Greek  Old  Comedy,  and  was  anything  but  ex- 
clusively Roman;  but  the  Roman  claim  to  originality  is  just, 
in  so  far  as  it  refers  to  the  development  of  that  kind  of  writing 
into  a  literary  genus,  and  the  application  to  it  of  a  definite 
and  particular  name.  In  the  words  of  Professor  Conington, 
"That  which  constitutes  the  vaunted  originality  of  Roman 

^  Satira  dicitur  carmen  apud  Romanos  nunc  quidem  maledicum  et  ad 
carpenda  hominum  vitia  archaeae  comoediae  charactere  compositum, 
quale  scripserunt  Lucilius  et  Horatius  et  Persius.  Et  olim  carmen  quod 
ex  variis  poematibus  constabat  satira  vocabatur,  quale  scripserunt  Pacuvius 
et  Ennius.  Suetonius,  Reliquiae,  Reifferscheidt's  edition,  p.  20.  Keil, 
Gram.  Lat.,  I,  485. 

3  Inst.  Or  at.,  X,  i,  93. 

*  Serm.,  I,  10,  48. 

^  Serm.,  II,  i,  62  f. 

*  Serm.,  I,  4,  6. 


INTRODUCTION  3 

satire  is  not  so  much  its  substance  as  its  form:  the  one  had 
already  existed  in  perfection  at  Athens,  the  elaboration  of 
the  other  was  reserved  for  the  poetic  art  of  Italy."^ 

And  not  only  in  the  Old  Comedy  of  the  Greeks,  but  also 
in  their  Stoic  diatribes,  their  Cynic  popular-philosophical 
writings,  are  we  to  look  for  the  forerunners  of  Roman  satire. 
The  importance  of  the  Stoic  element  in  the  works  of  Persius 
due  to  the  influence  of  his  teacher  Cornutus,  is  of  course  well 
known;  but,  aside  from  such  definite  and  individual  connec- 
tions, there  is  a  very  considerable  similarity  between  the 
Greek  philosophical  moralists  and  the  Roman  satirists  in 
general.  The  same  underlying  motive,  that  of  ethical  criti- 
cism, appears  again  and  again.  The  broad  principle  em- 
phasized by  the  Cynic  school,  that  man  should  live  as  far  as 
possible  a  life  of  simplicity  and  naturalness,  is  reflected  in 
the  satirical  pictures  of  luxury  and  artificiality  in  the  later 
writers.  Horace  acknowledges  the  influence  of  Bion  of  Borys- 
thenes  upon  his  own  work.^  Sometimes  definite  parallelisms 
can  be  shown  between  his  writing  and  various  Greek  works. 
The  comic  picture  of  the  discontented  people  who,  when 
suddenly  offered  their  wishes  by  some  god,  hastily  eat  their 
own  words,  is  found  in  Maximus  of  Tyre,^  a  Greek  writer  of 
the  second  century  a.  d.  He  probably  did  not  copy  it  from 
Horace:  more  likely  both  authors  made  use  of  an  idea  that 
was  common  property,  and  which  may  have  originated  with 
Bion.^°  Those  who  make  no  use  of  the  hoards  they  have 
amassed  are  compared  to  Tantalus  by  Teles."  The  contrast 
that  is  at  the  bottom  of  Horace's  fable  of  the  city  mouse  and 
the  country  mouse — simplicity  and  safety  versus  luxury  and 

^  Lecture  on  the  Life  and  Writings  of  Persius,  prefixed  to  his  edition 
of  Persius,  p.  xxvii. 

^  Epist.,  II,  2,  60. 

8  XXI,  I  (XV  of  Hobein's  edition). 

^^  Heinze,  De  Horatio  Bionis  Imitatore,  p.  16-17.  Cf.  Kiessling-Heinze, 
note  on  Horace,  Serni.,  I,  i,  ad  loc. 

"IV  A.  Hense's  edition  of  the  Reliqtnae,  p.  24  f.  loannes  Stobaeus, 
Florilegium,  97,  31. 


4        LATIN    SATIRICAL   WRITING   SUBSEQUENT   TO   JUVENAL 

care  and  danger — is  dwelt  on  to  some  extent  by  a  later  imi- 
tator of  Teles. ^^  Musonius,  Philo,  and  Plutarch,  to  mention 
representatives  of  different  periods,  all  contain  more  or  less 
of  this  same  general  type  of  moralizing.^^ 

Horace  gives  us  his  idea  of  the  proper  style  for  satire,  in 
Serm.,  I,  lo, — the  writer  should  have  some  more  lofty  motive 
than  merely  to  raise  a  laugh,  whether  by  his  wittiness  or  by 
galling,  cruel  mockery;  he  should  avoid  verbosity;  sometimes, 
perhaps,  it  is  well  to  be  stern  and  bitter,  more  often  kindly  and 
playful;  assuming  now  the  lofty  style  of  the  orator  and  poet, 
and  then  the  lighter  attitude  of  the  wit,  which  is  often  indeed 
the  more  effective  of  the  two.^*  With  this  an  English  satirist 
of  note  agrees,  in  saying  that  "the  best  and  finest  manner  of 
satire  ...  is  that  sharp  well-mannered  way  of  laughing  a 
folly  out  of  countenance  .  .  .   ".^^ 

But  there  are  certain  definite  limitations  to  this  view- 
point. There  is  little  practice,  for  example,  of  the  art  of 
"  laughing  a  folly  out  of  countenance  "  in  the  satires  of  Juvenal. 
John  Delaware  Lewis,  indeed,  points  out  that  Juvenal  has 
relieved  his  somber  pages  with  not  a  few  touches  of  a  humor 
that  is  essentially  modern  ;^^  but  the  real  spirit  of  Juvenal's 
satire  is  not  humorous,  but  austere,  and,  with  the  exception 
of  a  few  passages  like 

Maxima  debetur  puero  reverential^ 

i^Stob.,  7=-/or.,  93,  31. 

^^  See,  in  general,  Heinze's  dissertation  above  referred  to,  also  P.  Wend- 
land,  Philo  und  die  Kynisch-Stoische  Diatribe;  P.  Wendland,  Hellenistisch- 
Romische  Kultur,  pp.  78-79;  F.  Leo,  Romische  Literatur  des  Altertums, 
in  Die  Kultur  der  Gegenwart,  I,  8,  3d  ed.,  p.  421 ;  M.  Croiset,  Essai  sur  la  vie 
et  les  oeuvres  de  Lucien,  p.  152. 

^^  On  the  interpretation  of  this  passage  see  G.  L.  Hendrickson,  Horace 
and  Lucilius:  a  Study  of  Horace,  Serm.,  I,  10,  in  the  volume  of  Studies  in 
Honor  of  Basil  L.  Gilder  sleeve,  p.  152  ff, 

'^  John  Dryden,  Discourse  concerning  the  Original  and  Progress  of  Satire. 
Essays  of  John  Dryden,  edited  by  W.  P.  Ker,  2,  105. 

1^  John  Delaware  Lewis,  D.  lunii  luvenalis  Satirae,  with  a  Literal  English 
Prose  Translation  and  Notes.     2d  ed.     Introduction  pp.  14-17. 

"  14.  47- 


I 


INTRODUCTION  5 

he  does  not  seek,  directly,  at  least,  to  reform  evil  conditions, 
so  much  as  to  scourge  them  with  indignant  invective  and 
bitterest  scorn. 

It  would  be  a  thankless  task  to  attempt  to  define  satire  as 
rigidly  and  precisely  as  a  mathematician  defines  a  circle.  The 
field  of  satire  is  broad  enough  to  include  the  humorous  descrip- 
tion of  the  journey  to  Brundisium,  the  "intellectual  scorn" 
of  Persius,  and  the  concentrated  rhetorical  denunciations  of 

Juvenal. 

Quidquid  agunt  homines,  votum  timor  ira  voluptas 
Gaudia  discursus — 

that  is  the  true  field  of  satire,  and  not  only  what  men  do,  but 
what  they  think,  and  what  they  are.  Satire  may  be  personal, 
as  Lucilius's  satire  of  prominent  men,  Seneca's  satire  on  the 
dead  Claudius,  or  Claudian's  "/w  Eutropium."  In  such 
cases  its  affinity  with  the  Old  Comedy  is  clear.  Its  object 
then  is  to  pillory  the  given  person  before  the  reader's  eye, 
to  ridicule  his  faults,  laugh  at  his  failings,  or  expose  his  crimes 
to  the  reader's  indignation.  Or  satire  may  deal  with  topics 
and  problems  and  thoughts  of  every-day  life,  as  in  Horace 
and  Persius,  and,  as  a  rule,  wherever  it  mentions  names,  men- 
tion them  more  as  representatives  of  types,  embodiments  of 
the  qualities  under  discussion,  than  with  any  special  feeling 
of  personal  bitterness  in  mind.  But  within  this  wide  variety 
of  subjects  for  treatment,  we  must  remember  that  the  satirist 
occupies  essentially  one  point  of  view,  and  that  the  differ- 
ences which  may  exist  between  his  different  writings  are  due 
to  the  variety  of  subject-matter,  and  not  to  any  change  in 
the  writer's  attitude.  We  will  always  find,  at  bottom,  some 
moral  or  ethical-philosophical  idea,  some  principle  which  the 
satirist  desires  to  inculcate,  in  a  positive  or  negative  way. 
The  definition  already  quoted  holds  the  key  to  the  real  char- 
acter of  satire,  "ad  carpenda  hominum  vitia."  Only  when 
this  is  clearly  borne  in  mind  can  one  begin  to  grasp  the  unity 
of  satirical  literature  as  a  whole.     "Quidquid  agunt  homines'' 


6        LATIN   SATIRICAL   WRITING    SUBSEQUENT   TO   JUVENAL 

is  a  wide  field,  and  only  some  such  underlying  attitude,  some 
such  well-defined  angle  of  thought,  or  purpose,  on  the  part 
of  the  writer  can  enable  him  to  even  attempt  to  assume  such  a 
field  for  his  province.  The  criticism  of  human  faults  is  this 
underlying  basis  of  satire:  it  takes  many  forms,  from  the  wide 
variety  of  its  possible  themes,  and  from  the  temper  of  its 
individual  exponents,  but  it  is  always  there. 

Is  it  necessary,  moreover,  that  we  should  think  of  satire 
as  restricted  to  hexameter  verse?  "Carmen  maledicum," 
says  the  grammarian ;  must  we  hold  fast  to  the  literal  meaning 
of  "carmen''?  Here  again  careful  analysis  is  necessary. 
In  a  certain  sense,  yes.  In  so  far  as  the  dictum  of  Quintilian, 
"  Satira  quidem  iota  nostra  est,"  is  true,  in  so  far  as  we  think  of 
satire  as  "a  definite  poetical  genus,  comparable  to  other 
departments  of  poetry,  such  as,  for  example,  the  elegy  ";^^ 
so  far  must  we  yield  to  the  formal  character  given  to  satire  by 
Lucilius  and  confirmed  by  the  practice  of  Horace,  Persius, 
and    Juvenal. 

And  yet,  in  a  wider  sense,  no.     When  once  we  look  below 

the  surface,  and  seek  the  gold  regardless  of  the  stamp  upon  it, 

we  find  that  the  satirical  spirit  has  by  no  means  confined 

itself,  in  its  desire  for  expression,  to  the  traditional,  established 

hexameter  form.     In  a  type  of  literature  like  satire,  where  the 

content  is  really  the  important  element,  the  form  cannot  be 

more  than  a  minor  consideration.     Would  not  the  satires  of 

Horace  and  Persius  and  Juvenal  deserve  the  name  of  satires 

if  they  were  turned  into  prose?     Horace,   in  fact,   frankly 

excepts  himself  "numero  illorum  qidhus  dederim  esse  poetis";^^ 

and  it  seems  evident  that  to  him  the  metrical  form  in  which 

his  "sermones"  or  "talks"  were  cast  was  an  incidental  and 

not  an  indispensable  feature.     Prose  parallels  to  the  poetical 

"satire"  are  not  wanting.     The  86th  letter  of  Seneca,  in  which 

he  compares  heroes  like  Scipio,  Fabius,  and  Cato,  with  their 

^*  G.   L.   Hendrickson,  Are  the  Letters  of  Horace  Satires?     American 
Journal  of  Philology,  i8,  322. 
"  Serm.,  I,  4,  39  ff. 


I 


INTRODUCTION  7 

scanty  toilet  accommodations  and  their  rustic  ideas  of  cleanli- 
ness to  the  degenerate  Romans  of  a  later  age  who  build  and 
enjoy  such  elaborate  baths,  is  an  illustration  in  point.  Such 
a  reference  to  the  temperature  of  the  modern  bath  as  the 
following, — ^^  temper atur am  .  .  .  gtiae  niiper  inventa  est  simAlis 
incendio,  adeo  qiiidem,  ut  convictum  in  aligiio  scelere  servum 
vivum  lavari  oporteat" — might,  if  in  verse,  easily  pass  for  a 
remark  of  Juvenal's.  Seneca  satirizes  Claudius,  Petronius 
satirizes  the  vulgar  ostentation  of  Trimalchio,  no  whit  the 
less  keenly  for  doing  it  mainly  in  prose.  To  think  of  such 
writing  as  satire  only  in  the  sense  of  "that  other  and  earlier 
kind  of  satire"  seems  to  the  writer  an  unnecessary  and  unwise 
limitation  of  the  significance  of  the  word. 


It  would  be  a  mistake  to  think  of  the  three  great  Roman 
satirists — Horace,  Persius,  and  Juvenal— as  the  only  men 
who  were  writing  satire  during  the  period  covered  by  their 
literary  activities.  Still  earlier,  of  course,  was  Lucilius,  the 
great  master  whom  Horace,  though  criticising  in  details,  yet 
revered  and  imitated;  and  between  Lucilius  and  Horace, 
M.  Terentius  Varro  Atacinus  was  only  one  of  several  who  had 
tried  their  hands  at  satirical  writing,  but  without  success.^" 
In  the  works  of  Horace  himself,  and  the  notes  of  early  commen- 
tators, we  find  evidence  pointing  to  the  existence  of  other, 
contemporary  satirical  poets.  The  most  positive  of  this 
evidence  is  to  be  found  in  the  scholiasts.  Porphyrio  says, 
in  his  note  on  Serm.,  I,  i,  20:  "  Crispinus  philosophiae  studiosus 
fuit:  idem  et  carmina  scripsit,  sed  tarn  garriile,  ut  aretalogus 
diceretur^  The  pseudacronian  scholium  on  the  same  pas- 
sage is  to  the  same  effect:  "Hie  Crispimis  poeta  fuit,  qui 
sectam  Stoicam  versibus  scripsit.  .  .  .  nam  Stoici  de  divitiis 
maxime  disseruerunt.''  Again,  on  Serm.,  I,  3,  139  (pseudacro) : 
"Crispinus  Stoicus  fuit  qui  Stoicam  sectam  scripsit  versibus.'' 

^"^  Serm.,  I,  10,  46  ff. 


8        LATIN    SATIRICAL   WRITING   SUBSEQUENT   TO   JUVENAL 

And  on  Serm.,  I,  4,  14:  ^^ Hie  (i.  e.,  Crispinus)  similiter  ut 
Lucilius  multos  sed  malos  versus  faciebat."  Thus  it  would 
appear  that  this  Crispinus  was  a  Stoic  poet,  who  wrote  the 
moral-didactic  precepts  of  his  school  in  verses  which  were 
Lucilian  in  their  fluency,  at  least,  and  probably  in  other  re- 
spects. The  evidence  is  too  scanty  to  enable  one  to  dogmatize, 
but  Horace's  references  to  Crispinus  gain  in  significance  and 
interest  if  we  regard  this  writer  as  really  more  or  less  of  a  rival 
of  his,  writing  along  similar  lines.  Horace,  recognizing  a 
certain  affinity  between  many  of  his  own  ideas  and  those  of 
the  Stoic  school,  such  as  he  puts  in  the  mouth  of  Damasippus, 
deprecated  none  the  less  the  vehemence  and  extreme  con- 
clusions which  characterized  Stoic  teachings.  It  is  all  the 
more  natural,  therefore,  that  he  should  object  to  having  argu- 
ments with  which  he  could  sympathize  weakened  by  inferior 
presentation  or  proximity  to  other  arguments  with  which 
he  had  nothing  in  common.  Thus  if  Crispinus  was  really  a 
Stoic  satirist,  treating,  on  the  whole,  the  same  general  themes 
which  furnished  Horace  himself  with  material,  we  have  a 
broader  and  more  adequate  ground  for  Horace's  evident 
antipathy  to  him  than  if  we  merely  assume  that  his  verses 
illustrated  certain  defects  in  style. 

Further,  the  words  of  Serm.,  I,  4,  33  fif., — 

Omnes  hi  metuunt  versus,  odere  poetas. 
"Faenum  habet  in  cornu,  longe  fuge:  dummodo  risum 
Excutiat  sibi,  non  hie  cuiquam  parcet  amico" — 

clearly  imply  that  there  must  have  been  poets  writing  who 
furnished  ground  for  such  a  generalization.  Why  should 
those  ruled  by  avarice,  ambition,  or  passion,  immediately 
become  alarmed  on  hearing  that  Horace  was  a  satiric  poet, 
unless  for  the  simple  reason  that  they  had  already  had  ex- 
perience with  "versus''  and  "poetas,"  so  that  the  mere  mention 
of  either  was  sufficient  to  arouse  their  fear  and  hatred?  Vv. 
70  ff.  of  the  same  satire  have  the  same  implication,  namely, 
that  Horace  was  contrasting  himself  with  other  writers  whose 


INTRODUCTION  .  9 

works  were  widely  published,  and  whom  some  people  were  per- 
haps justified  in  fearing. 

We  know  also  that  Gaius  Trebonius  sent  to  Cicero  some 
satirical  verses  in  the  style  of  Lucilius,^!  and  that  Lenacus, 
a  grammarian,  a  freedman  of  Pompey,  wrote  a  "most  bitter 
satire  "  against  the  historian  Sallust.22  Suetonius  also  mentions 
Sevius  Nicanor  as  the  author  of  a  satire  ;23  and  Lucius  Abuccius, 
according  to  Varro,-^  had  written  books  of  Lucilian  character. 
Orbilius  Pupilius  Beneventanus,  the  teacher  of  Horace,  wrote 
a  book  "  containing  complaints  of  the  injuries  suffered  by 
professors  from  the  negligence  or  the  ambition  of  parents. "^s 
The  two  books  of  Julius  Caesar  against  Cato,  also,  perhaps, 
deserve  mention  in  this  connection.^^  And  in  the  time  of 
Nero,  Seneca  and  Petronius  were  writing  satire." 

We  shall  find  that  satirical  writing  took  an  important  place, 
also,  in  the  literature  of  the  later  Empire.  It  is  the  most 
natural  thing  in  the  world — any  other  result  would  be  in- 
explicable— that  this  should  be  so.  There  could  not  help 
being  writers  in  the  later  generations  (i.  e.,  after  Juvenal)  who 
were  actuated  by  like  motives  to  those  of  the  classical  satirists, 
whose  minds  were  filled  with  wrath  or  contempt  for  vice  and 
vicious  men,  or  with  tolerant,  kindly  ridicule  for  the  lighter 
failings  of  human  nature.     The  very  fact  of  the  rise  and  spread 

21  Cicero,  Epp.  ad  Fam.,  XII,  16,  3. 

^^  Suetonius,  De  Gratn.,  15. 

^^  De  Gram.,  5. 

^*  De  Re  RusHca,  III,  2,  17. 

^^  Suetonius,  De  Gram.,  9.     Cf.  Juvenal,  7. 

2s  Merivale,  History  of  the  Romatis  under  the  Empire,  Vol.  3,  p.  9.  Cf. 
C.  W.  Gottling,  Opuscida,  158. 

"  It  seems  clear  that  the  mention  by  Fulgentius,  Expositio  Serm. 
Antiq.,  33  and  58,  of  Gavius  Bassus  and  of  Rabirius  as  writers  of  satire 
is  not  to  be  taken  as  trustworthy  evidence.  Cf.  Lcrsch  in  Philologus,  I, 
615  ff.,  and  Haupt  in  Rheinisches  Museum,  3,  308  f?.  (=  Opuscida,  Vol.  i, 
P-  159  f-)-  And  this  renders  suspicious  also  the  reference  to  L.  Annaeus 
Cornutus,  the  philosopher  and  teacher  of  Persius,  as  a  satirist,  by  the 
same  author  {ibid.  20) ;  although  F.  Ramorino  in  Studi  italiani  di  Filologia 
classica,  12,  230-231,  inclines  to  give  some  credence  to  this  statement. 


10      LATIN   SATIRICAL   WRITING   SUBSEQUENT   TO   JUVENAL 

of  Christianity,  with  the  attendant  gigantic,  world-wide, 
bitter  conflict  between  the  new  rehgion  and  the  old,  itself 
gave  an  excellent  opportunity  for  the  use  of  satire  and  in- 
vective, an  opportunity  which  was  by  no  means  overlooked.^* 
These  later  writers  may  not  have  put  their  thoughts  into 
words  with  quite  the  same  skill  as  the  classical  satirists,  may 
be  inferior  in  clearness  of  insight  and  ability  of  expression, 
but  at  the  same  time  they  deserve  investigation,  and  it  will 
be  found  that  in  many  cases  they  are  not  at  all  unworthy  of 
being  compared  with  their  earlier  and  better  knov/n  prototypes. 
It  is  the  purpose  of  the  writer  to  call  attention  to  some  of  the 
satirical  writing  of  this  later  period,  to  show  what  forms  it 
took,  what  subjects  it  dealt  with,  and  the  nature  of  its  treat- 
ment of  those  subjects. 

2^  Cf.   Schanz,    Geschichte   der   romischen   Literatur,   in   I  wan   Miiller's 
Handbuch,  Vol.  8,  IV,  i,  252. 


MINOR  POETS  CONTEMPORARY  WITH  JUVENAL 

TURNUS 

TuRNUS,  a  satirical  poet  of  whom  not  much  is  definitely 
known,  was  approximately  contemporary  with  Juvenal.  If 
we  are  to  trust  the  scholiast  quoted  by  Valla  on  Juvenal  i,  20, 
he  was  "patents  in  aula  Vespasiani,  Titi,  et  Domitianif'  hence 
may  have  flourished  a  little  before  Juvenal.  As  a  satirist, 
his  name  was  often  used  in  conjunction  with  that  of  Juvenal, 
e.  g.,  by  Rutilius  Namatianus,  De  Reditu  Sno,  i,  603: 

Huius  vulnificis  satura  ludente  Camenis 
Nee  Turniis  potior  nee  luvenalis  erit. 

loannes  Lydus,  also,  in  his  book  "Z)e  Magistratihus  Populi 
Romani"  i,  41,  couples  the  name  of  Turnus  with  those  of 
Juvenal  and  Petronius,  in  speaking  of  Roman  satirists.^ 

We  have,  in  fact,  two  lines  preserved,  which  are  ascribed  to 
Turnus  by  the  scholiast  on  Juvenal  i,  71.  They  are,  un- 
fortunately, corrupt,  reading  as  follows: 

Ex  quo  Caesareas  suboles  Loeusta  cecidit 
Horrida  eura  sui  verna  nota  Neronis. 

The  second  verse  is  thus  emended  by  Buecheler:- 
Horrendi  curas  avertere  nata  Neronis. 

It  is  impossible  to  tell  from  such  a  small  fragment  what 
the  whole  satire  was  about — whether  the  mention  of  Nero  is 
just  in  passing,  or  whether  he  is  depicted  at  some  length.  A 
possible  interpretation  is  that  a  certain  state  of  affairs  (poison- 
ing?) is  being  dated  by  Turnus  from  the  employment  by 
Nero  of  the  "famosa  venefica''  of  Gaul,  Loeusta.^ 

*  See  also  Martial,  XI,  10.  Sehanz,  Geschichte,  Handbuch,  8,  II,  2 
(3d  ed.),  196. 

2  Pers.  luv.  Snip.  Saturae,  lahn-Leo,  4th  ed.,  p.  286. 

*  Cf.  Suetonius,  Nero,  33.     Tacitus,  Annals,  12,  66;  13,  15. 

1 1 


12      LATIN   SATIRICAL   WRITING   SUBSEQUENT   TO   JUVENAL 

Turnus'  style  of  satire  would  seem  from  this  fragment  to 
be  sharp  and  biting,  like  that  of  Juvenal.  Similarity  to  Juve- 
nal is  also  suggested  by  the  coupling  of  their  names  by  later 
writers. 

The  lines  attributed  to  Turnus  by  Wernsdorf^  have  been 
shown  to  be  the  work  of  a  later  writer.^ 

SiLIUS 

Silius,  about  lOO  a.  d.,  is  known  to  us  as  a  satirist  from  the 
scholiast  on  Juvenal  i,  20  ("magnus  Aunmcae  alumnus'^) 
as  follows:  " Lucilium  dicit  .  .  .  vel  .  .  .  Turnum  dicit  .  .  . 
vel  Lenium^  dicit  .  .  .  vel  Silium  et  ipsum  sui  temporis  satyri- 
cum,  qui  onines  ut  Prohus  referl  ex  Aiirunca  fuerunt.'' 

This  writer  may  be  identical  with  the  Silius  Proculus  to 
whom  Pliny  the  Younger  addresses  Epistle  15  of  Book  3,  in 
which  he  promises  to  look  over  some  of  his  poetry.^ 

Sentius  Augurinus 

A  reference  by  the  younger  Pliny  points  to  this  writer, 
about  whom  nothing  else  is  known,  in  a  way  that  indicates 
that  some  of  his  writing  may  have  been  of  a  satirical  nature. 

"Poematia  appellat.  Multa  teniiiter,  multa  siihlimiter , 
multa  veniiste,  multa  tenere,  multa  dulciter,  multa  cum  hile^^ 

Vergilius  Romanus 
Considering  the  relation  which  Roman  satire  bore  to  the  Old 
Comedy,  it  may  be  of  interest  here  to  note  a  comedy  written 
in  imitation  of  the  Old  Comedy  at  Rome  about  107  A.  D. 
Pliny^  tells  of  listening  to  Vergilius  Romanus  as  he  read  to  a 
few  friends  "comoediam  ad  exemplar  veteris  comoediae  scriptam 
tarn  bene  ut  esse  quandogue  possit  exemplar. ''     It  was  his  first 

*  Poetae  Latini  Minores,  3,  p.  lix,  p.  77. 

5L.  Muller:  Rhcinisches  Museum,  25  (1870),  436. 

^  Lenaeus,  above  referred  to.     Introd.,  p.  9. 

^  Teuffel's  Geschichte  der  Romischen  Literatur,  6th  ed.,  §  332,  9. 

8  Pliny,  Epp.,  IV,  27.     Teuffel's  Geschichte,  6th  ed.,  §  332,  6. 

^Epp.,  VI,  21. 


MINOR  POETS  CONTEMPORARY  WITH  JUVENAL      I3 

attempt  at  this  sort  of  writing,  but  he  did  not  seem  a  beginner, 
"wow  illi  vis,  non  granditas,  non  suhtilitas,  non  amaritudo, 
non  dulcedo,  non  lepos  defuit;  ornavit  virtiites,  insectatiis  est 
vitia,  fictis  nominibus  decenter,  veris  usus  est  apte."  It  re- 
ceives high  praise  from  Pliny.  Ribbeck^**  remarks  that  it  is 
an  indication  of  the  HberaUty  of  the  age,  that  a  satirical  comedy 
in  which  names  of  Hving  persons  appeared  could  be  written 
and    admired. 

1'  Geschichte  der  Romtschen  Dichtimg  3,  292. 


APULEIUS. 

Apuleius  (c.  124-?  A.  D.,)  a  native  of  Madaura,  on  the 
borderland  of  Numidia  and  Gaetulia  in  North  Africa,  was  a 
fluent  and  versatile  writer,  master  of  both  Greek  and  Latin. 
Among  his  literary  works  he  produced  satires,  as  we  know 
by  his  own  testimony.  In  the  Florida  9  (p.  37  Oud.)  we  read: 
"...  fateor  .  .  .  me  reficere  poemata  omnigenus  apta  virgae, 
lyrae,  socco,  cotiirno,  item  satiras  ac  gryphos,  item  historias 
varias  reriim  nee  non  orationes  laudatas  disertis  nee  non  dialogos 
laudatos  philosophis  .  .  .  ,"   etc. 

Again  in  the  same  work,  Chapter  20  (p.  98  Oud.):  "canit 
enim  Empedocles  carmina,  Plato  dialogos,  Socrates  hymnos, 
Epicharmus  modos,  Xenophon  historias,  Xenocrates  satiras: 
Apuleius  vester  haec  omnia  novemque  Musas  pari  studio  colit 
.  .  .,"  etc.  As  to  the  nature  and  style  of  these  satires  of 
Apuleius,  whether  Menippean  or  Horatian,  and  what  kind  of 
material  they  dealt  with,  we  have  no  knowledge  whatever. 

But  another  work  of  Apuleius  demands  our  attention:  his 
longest  and  most  important  production,  the  '^  Metamor- 
phoseon  Libri  XI,"  a  prose  romance  of  a  fantastic,  satirical 
character.  In  this  the  author  narrates,  in  the  first  person, 
the  numerous  and  varied  adventures  of  one  Lucius,  a  Corin- 
thian, who  by  accident  was  transformed  into  an  ass,  and  under- 
went many  remarkable  experiences  before  he  regained  his 
human    form. 

This  work  is  based  in  part  on  a  Greek  romance  entitled 
AovKLos  fj  ovos,  commonly  ascribed  to  Lucian.  There  are 
some  important  alterations  and  additions  in  the  work  of  Apu- 
leius, especially  the  end  of  the  story,  which  is  on  a  much  higher 
plane  than  in  the  Greek  version,^  but  in  the  main  the  resem- 

^  W.  H.  D.  Rouse:  Cupid  and  Psyche  and  Other  Tales.  Introduction, 
p.  xix. 

14 


APULEIUS  15 

blance  is  quite  close.  The  work  of  Lucian,  if  he  was  really 
the  author,^  in  turn  was  preceded  by  the  two  books  of  Mero:- 
Hop(f)03(Teis  of  an  otherwise  unknown  Lucius  of  Patrae,  who  is 
mentioned   by   Photius.^ 

Rohde  believes  that  the  Mera/jLopcpioaeLs  of  Lucius  of  Patrae 
was  written  in  a  serious  style,  as  if  the  author  pretended,  at 
least,  to  veracity;  while  the  Aovklos  rj  ovos  was  in  a  joking, 
satirical  vein,  perhaps  with  the  definite  idea  of  making  fun 
of  the  earlier  work,^  and  that  Apuleius  copied  the  general 
tone  and  manner  of  the  latter. 

Apuleius  may  not  have  begun  his  work  with  the  deliberate 
intention  of  writing  a  satire  on  contemporary  life,  but  it  has 
long  been  recognized  that  such  an  element  plays  no  small 
part  in  the  composition,  and  it  may  very  properly  be  classified 
as  a  satirical  novel. ^ 

The  widespread  superstition,  the  credulous  acceptance  of 
the  most  extravagant  yarns,  and  various  immoralities  of  the 
time,  are  depicted  in  a  way  sometimes  gruesome,  but  often 
amusing  and  absurd.  The  narration  of  the  experiences  of  an 
ass  with  human  intelligence  naturally  gives  opportunity  for 
much  that  is  comical  and  ridiculous.  It  does  not  seem  too 
much  to  say  that  the  very  metamorphosis  itself,  with  the 
unexpectedness  of  the  transformation  into  a  donkey  instead 
of  a  bird,  conveys  a  satirical  hint  that  the  road  to  the  occult 
is  a  slippery  path,  and  a  slight  misstep  may  produce  results 
the  reverse  of  satisfactory. 

Touches  like  VI,  22,  where  Jupiter  reproaches  Cupid  for 
causing  him  to  violate  the  "lex  lulia,"  and  VI,  23,  where 
Mercury  threatens  delinquent  deities  with  a  fine  of  ten  thou- 
sand nummi,  are  in  line  with  the  satirical  tendency  of  the  work. 

^  Erwin  Rohde:  Zu  Apuleius,  Rheinisches  Museum,  40  (1885),  91. 

^  Bibliotheca,  129,  p.  96  h,  Bekker. 

*  Rheinisches  Museum,  40,  91.  See  also  TeufFel,  Lukians  Aovkios  und 
Appuleius'  Metamorphosen,  Rheinisches  Museum,  19  (1864),  243. 

^  Teuffel  in  Pauly's  Realencyclopedie,  6,  822  sub  voce  Satira.  Bern- 
hardy,  Crundriss  der  Romischen  Litteratur,  726.  Ribbeck,  Geschichte,  3, 
337.     Schwabe  in  Pauly-Wissowa's  Realencyclopddie,  2,  250. 


TERTULLIAN. 

Among  the  early  Christian  writers  in  Latin,  Quintus  Septim- 
ius  Florens  TertulHanus  occupies  a  prominent  place.  Car- 
thage was  the  scene  of  his  greatest  activity:  the  dates  of  his 
birth  and  death  are  not  known  with  certainty,  but  were 
approximately  150  and  230  a.  d.  Eusebius^  mentions  him 
as  an  eminent  jurist  at  Rome,  and  many  traces  of  his  legal 
education  are  apparent  in  his  writings.  He  was  not  Christian 
born,  but  made,  as  he  himself  would  have  phrased  it.^  After 
his  conversion,  however,  he  became  a  zealous  advocate  and 
defender  of  Christianity  against  paganism,  and  in  his  later 
life  upheld  the  Montanist  party  in  the  Church  against  the 
orthodox. 

The  writings  of  Tertullian  exercised  a  powerful  influence 
on  his  successors  in  the  Latin  Church.  His  style  was  original, 
concise,  and  epigrammatic,  often  obscure,  but  strong  and 
effective.  He  was  not  "absolutely  without  a  trace  of  humor, "^ 
but  his  humor  was  biting  and  caustic.  He  was  less  concerned 
with  the  stylistic  excellence  of  his  literary  productions  than 
with  their  subject  matter.  He  was  a  very  vigorous  and  im- 
passioned writer,  of  great  learning,  a  keen  logical  mind,  in- 
tolerant of  opposition,  absolutely  fearless  in  controversy; 
and  he  frequently  relied  on  the  satirical  treatment  of  his 
themes, — now  skilfully  exposing  the  absurdities  and  incon- 
sistencies of  his  opponents,  making  them  appear  ridiculous,* 
now  reproaching  them  with  the  most  intense  and  bitter  irony.^ 

^  His  tor  ia  Ecclesiastica,  2,  2. 

^  Apologeticum,  18. 

^  Cruttwell,  A  Literary  History  of  Early  Christianity,  2,  569. 

*  E.  g.,  adv.  Valentinianos,  where  he  expressly  states  that  to  be  his 
purpose;  cf.  below  p.  23  f. 

^  Bernhardy,  Grundriss,  791.  Ebert,  Geschichte  der  christlichen  lateiniS' 
chen  Literatur,  34.  Robertson,  History  of  the  Christian  Church,  l,  ill. 
Farrar,  Lives  of  the  Fathers,  l,  120. 

16 


TERTULLIAN  17 

Some  of  his  works  are  almost  wholly  satirical,  while  in  others 
satire  is  employed  at  intervals,  and  never  fails  in  keenness. 
The  treatise  De  Pallio  is  an  excellent  example  of  TertuUian's 
use  of  satire.^  This  was  written,  probably  about  the  year 
208,''  as  a  reply  to  those  who  criticized  his  action  in  discarding 
the  Roman  toga  for  the  Greek  pallium.  Though  brief,  and 
apparently  on  a  rather  insignificant  subject,  the  De  Pallio 
is  interesting,  lively,  and  full  of  spice.  The  very  beginning, — 
"Perpetual  rulers  of  Africa,  men  of  Carthage,  of  noble  past 
and  blessed  present,  I  congratulate  you  on  having  fallen  into 
such  prosperous  times  as  thus  to  have  the  leisure  and  the 
inclination  to  criticize  people's  clothes,"^ — reminds  one  of 
Juvenal's  sarcastic  exclamation  "  Respondes  his,  lane  pater? 
magna  otia  caeliF'^  Continuing  with  a  rather  pointed  refer- 
ence to  the  fact  that  the  toga  upheld  by  his  critics  is  the 
garb  of  the  nation  that  once  overthrew  Carthage,  he  passes 
over  this  with  the  ironical  words  "sit  mine  aliunde  res,  ne 
Poenicum  inter  Romanos  ant  erubescat  ant  doleat."  Why 
should  man  be  denied  the  freedom  of  changing  his  appearance 
for  which  nature  is  praised?  For  the  whole  face  of  the  earth 
is  continually  changing,  with  convulsions  of  nature,  the 
march  of  the  seasons,  the  rise  and  decay  of  cities,  etc.  How 
delightful  a  change,  for  example,  Tertullian  remarks  with 
keen  mockery,  has  taken  place  in  the  Empire,  "  eradicato 
omni  aconito  Jwstili talis  et  cacto  et  mho  suhdolae  familiari talis 
convulso,  et  amoenus  super  Alcinoi  pometum  et  Midae  rosetum."^'^ 
Even  beasts,  though  not  possessed  of  garments,  alter  their 
looks  by  changing  color  or  skin  or  in  other  ways.     The  pea- 

*  Teuffel  in  Pauly's  Realencyclopedie ,  6,  822,  sub  voce  Satira.  Salmas- 
ius,  Quintus  Septimius  Florens  Tertullianus  Liber  de  Pallio,  p.  61.  Ebert, 
Geschichte,  53  f. 

^  A.  Harnack,  Geschichte  der  altchristlichen  Literatur,  II,  2,  259. 

*  Principes  semper  Africae,  viri  Carthaginienses,  vetustate  nobiles, 
novitate  felices,  gaudeo  vos  tam  prosperos  temporum,  cum  ita  vacat  ac 
iuvat,  habitus  denotare. 

'  6,  394. 

1"  Chapter  2.     Cf.  Hauck,  Tertullians  Leben  und  Schriften,  p.  383. 


l8      LATIN    SATIRICAL   WRITING    SUBSEQUENT   TO   JUVENAL 

cock,  the  snake,  the  hyena,  the  chameleon,  furnish  examples 
of  this  love  of  variety  for  which  the  man  is  censured. 

If  the  Roman  dress  is  so  essential,  why,  says  Tertullian 
to  his  critics,  do  you  treat  your  bodies  as  if  you  were  Greeks? 
Whence  this  strange  inconsistency?  "Prodigium  est,  haec 
sine  pallio  fieri.  Illius  est  haec  tota  res  Asiae.  Quid  tibi, 
Libya  et  Europa,  cum  xysticis  munditiis,  quae  vestire  non  nosti? 
Revera  enim  quale  est  Graecatim  depilari  magis  quam  amiciri?"^^ 

Change  of  dress  is  blameworthy  only  when  it  offends  nature, 
not  merely  custom.  For  Achilles  to  conceal  himself  beneath 
the  gown  pf  a  girl,  for  Hercules  to  exchange  garb  with  Om- 
phale,  for  Alexander  to  discard  the  Macedonian  mail  for 
effeminate  Eastern  silk, — such  acts  deserve  your  censure. 
And  why  do  you  not  criticize  the  relaxation  of  the  ancient 
laws  of  female  dress,  or  those  who  follow  after  this,  that,  or 
the  other  religious  sect,  attracted  by  the  color  of  its  devotees' 
costume? 

We  should  not  hesitate  to  abandon  diadem  and  scepter, 
say  nothing  of  the  toga,  for  the  pallium.  For  the  pallium 
is  more  comfortable  and  simple  and  sensible  than  the  toga. 
"  I  ask  you  frankly,  when  you  have  a  toga  on,  how  do  you  feel, 
dressed,  or  burdened?  That  you  are  wearing  a  garment,  or 
carrying  one?  If  you  will  not  answer,  your  actions  shall 
speak:  I  will  follow  you  home  and  see  what  you  do  as  soon 
as  you  cross  the  threshold." 

But  let  the  pallium  plead  its  own  cause.  "I  am  under  no 
obligations  to  the  forum,  the  campus,  the  curia;  I  seek  no 
social  recognition,  I  do  not  haunt  the  evil-smelling  markets, 
the  tribunals,  the  courts;  I  have  nothing  to  do  with  judicial, 
or  military,  or  political  affairs;  I  have  withdrawn  from  the 
people.  I  live  for  myself,  and  yet  I  benefit  the  public  by 
prescribing  remedies  for  wide-spread  maladies.  I  have  no 
leniency  toward  vice.  I  cauterize  that  ambition  which  makes 
a  man  spend  half  a  million  for  a  single  piece  of  furniture.     I 

"  Chapter  4. 


TERTULLIAN  1 9 

plunge  my  scalpel  into  that  cruelty  which  throws  slaves  to 
the  fishes,  that  ultimately  they  may  become  food  for  their 
own  masters.  I  amputate  that  gluttony  which  seeks  rare  and 
unheard-of  dishes.  I  offer  purifying  drugs  to  uncleanness 
and  drunkenness.  Even  without  my  words,  the  very  sight 
of  me  brings  a  blush  to  the  cheek  of  the  evil-doer. 

"I  represent  also  other  virtues.  The  first  literary  men 
and  musicians  and  orators  and  physicians  and  poets  and 
astronomers  wore  the  pallium.  All  liberal  arts  are  covered 
by  my  four  corners. 

"A  fine  loss  of  standing  the  discarding  of  the  toga  must 
bring,  now  that  even  gladiators  and  their  trainers  are  clad 
therein!" 

Here  Tertullian  reverts  to  his  own  person  and  closes  with 
the  words  "But  now  the  pallium  has  attained  new  heights  of 
glory.  Gaude  pallium  et  exsulta!  A  better  philosophy  has 
adorned  thee  since  thou  becamest  the  garb  of  a  Christian." 

The  De  Pallio  is  an  interesting  and  enigmatical  work. 
What  was  its  motive?  Why  had  Tertullian  discarded  the 
toga  for  the  pallium?  It  was  not  a  symbol  of  his  conversion, 
for  he  had  been  a  Christian  for  years  before  the  date  of  this 
satire.  The  most  reasonable  explanation  is  that  he  wished 
it  to  symbolize  his  withdrawal  to  a  more  severe  and  ascetic 
level,  like  the  philosophers  who  had  worn  the  pallium  before 
him.^^ 

It  is  quite  obvious  that  much  more  is  involved  than  a  mere 
justification  of  a  man's  changing  the  style  of  his  clothes. 
The  ostensible  occasion  for  the  work  is  hardly  more  than  a 
convenient  starting-point  for  a  satire  on  certain  phases  of 
contemporary  life.  Tertullian  does  more  than  defend:  he 
not  only  parries,  but  thrusts,  with  the  sharp  rapier  of  his 
satire,  at  his  fellow-citizens,  their  idleness  in  criticizing  trifles 
while  passing  over  things  of  moment,  their  inconsistent  pro- 
fessions of  regard  for  the  established   order   contrasted    with 

'^^  Gaston  Boissier,  La  fin  du  paganisme,  i,  242  flf. 


20      LATIN    SATIRICAL   WRITING   SUBSEQUENT   TO   JUVENAL 

their  abandonment  of  the  best  that  the  old  order  stood  for, 
and  many  of  the  common  vices  of  the  period. 

In  spite  of  the  undoubted  sincerity  of  this,  we  should  prob- 
ably be  wrong  in  taking  the  De  Pallio  as  an  expression  of 
TertulHan's  own  original  ideas  clamoring  for  utterance.  The 
work  was  more  or  less  a  "  jeu  d'esprit,"  a  product  of  the  study.^' 
There  are  suspicious  discrepancies  between  parts  of  the  De 
Pallio  and  TertulHan's  other  writings.  Elsewhere,  for  ex- 
ample, he  does  not  recognize  anything  in  common  between 
philosophy  and  Christianity.  In  the  De  Praescriptione, 
I,  7,  he  says,  ^^ Quid  ergo  Athenis  et  Hierosolymis?  quid  acade- 
miae  et  ecclesiae?"  And  in  the  Apologeticum,  46:  ^^ Adeo 
quid  simile  philosophus  et  Christianus?  Graeciae  discipulus 
et  caeli?"  Yet  in  the  De  Pallio  he  does  not  oppose  the  ancient 
culture,  but  rather  admires  the  sages  who  had  worn  the  pal- 
lium before  him.      Christianity  is  a  "melior  philosophia.'^ 

Reasoning  along  these  lines,  J.  Geffcken^'*  presents  argu- 
ments to  prove  that  the  De  Pallio  may  very  likely  have  been 
based  on  or  copied  from  an  earlier  Roman  satire,  possibly  by 
Varro.  There  are  frequent  resemblances  between  the  style 
of  the  De  Pallio  and  the  customary  style  of  diatribe  and  satire. 
The  device  of  a  fictitious  opponent  is  one  which  is  used  here. 
The  author  begins  by  addressing  " Principes  semper  Africae," 
and  consistency  would  demand  that  he  adhere  to  the  use  of 
the  plural.  But  presently  we  find  "quid  denotas  hominem" 
(Chapter  2)  and  "tamen,  inquis,  ita  a  toga  ad  pallium?'* 
(Chapter  5),  and  so  on,  as  if  he  were  carrying  on  a  discussion 
with  a  single  interlocutor.^^  Again,  the  historical  treatment 
of  clothing,  such  as  Tertullian  uses,  reminds  one  of  the  diatribe, 
as  does  the  general  tone  of  advice  to  live  according  to  nature. 
The  curious  inaccuracy  in  the  description  of  the  chameleon  in 
Chapter  3  is  also  best  explained  by  the  assumption  of  an 
earlier   model.     Tertullian   himself,   an   African,    must   have 

1'  Boissier,  La  fin  du  paganisme,  i ,  257  f . 

"  Kynika  und  Verwandles. 

1^  Norden,  Die  antike  Kunstprosa,  p.  129  n.     Geffcken,  op.  cit.,  88,  129. 


TERTULLIAN  21 

known  that  this  animal  does  not  live  on  air,  but  would  have 
copied  this  mistaken  idea  from  his  original  without  correction.'^ 
Most  of  all,  perhaps,  in  the  speech  of  the  personified  pallium, 
do  we  observe  that  the  tone  is  thoroughly  Roman.  It  is 
Roman  landmarks, — the  forum,  the  campus,  the  curia,  and 
Roman  characters, — M.  Tullius,  Vedius  Pollio,  Hortensius, 
that  are  continually  referred  to,  in  spite  of  the  fact  that  the 
De  Pallio  is  presumably  written  by  a  Carthaginian  for  Car- 
thaginians. And  finally,  this  theory  also  offers  a  satisfactory 
explanation  for  the  tone  of  respect  for  philosophy,  augury, 
and  other  non-Christian  branches  of  learning.'^ 

One  of  the  most  important  of  TertuUian's  literary  works  is 
his  Apologeticuni,  composed  about  197  a.  d.'^  This  is  a  care- 
fully written  defence  of  Christianity  against  the  attacks  of 
the  pagans,  and  is  addressed  to  the  rulers  of  the  state,  as  if 
the  author  were  pleading  his  cause  before  a  judicial  tribunal. 
The  tone  is  intensely  serious,  indignant  at  times,  and  the 
work  abounds  in  bitter  satire.'^ 

"What  sort  of  laws  are  those  which  are  employed  against 
us  only  by  the  cruel  and  unjust  emperors?  Laws  which 
Trajan  partially  nullified  in  forbidding  active  measures  against 
the  Christians,  which  never  a  Hadrian,  though  keen  to  in- 
vestigate novelties,  never  a  Vespasian,  though  victor  over 
the  Jews,  never  a  Pius,  never  a  Verus  enforced.  If  we  are 
evil,  much  more  should  these  emperors,  foes  of  evil,  have 
sought  to  root  us  out." 

Chapter  6  is  satire  pure  and  simple,  directed  against  the 

degeneracy  of  the  Romans  as  compared  with  their  ancestors, 

whom    they   professed    to    imitate.     "Now   let    those    most 

scrupulous  defenders  and  avengers  of  the  laws  and  institutes 

of  our  fathers  make  answer  concerning  their  own  fidelity  and 

16  Geffcken,  op.  cit.,  84-85. 
"  Geffcken,  op.  cit.,  88,  130. 

1*  Harnack,  Geschichte  der  all-chrisllichen  Literatur,  II,  2,  257. 
"  Le  Nourry  in  Oehler's  edition  of  Tertullian,  3,  116.     Milman,  History 
of  Christianity,  2,  215. 


22      LATIN    SATIRICAL    WRITING    SUBSEQUENT   TO   JUVENAL 

honor  and  reverence  toward  the  decrees  of  our  ancestors, 
whether  in  no  point  they  have  fallen  short  or  deviated,  whether 
they  have  not  really  destroyed  the  essential  spirit  of  the  old 
discipline.  Whither  have  those  laws  gone  which  restrained 
extravagance  and  ostentation?  Luxury  and  immodesty  run 
riot,  both  among  men  and  women.  Even  the  old  austere 
religious  laws  you  have  repealed.  Piso  and  Gabinius — and 
they  were  not  Christians — expelled  Isis  and  Serapis  and  Ar- 
pocrates  from  all  Italy:  you  of  today  confer  high  honors 
upon  them.  You  continually  praise  antiquity  while  at  the 
same  time  renouncing  it  in  practice.^" 

"The  charges  of  crimes  against  the  Christians  are  so  mon- 
strous as  to  be  incredible;  yet  similar  crimes  are  well  attested 
as  existing  among  many  nations  and  classes,  yes,  even  among 
the  deities,  of  the  old  religion.  But  the  two  species  of  blind- 
ness easily  go  together,  so  that  those  who  do  not  see  that 
which  is,  seem  to  see  that  which  is  not.^^ 

"  If  Liber  was  deified  for  revealing  the  vine  to  man,  Lucullus 
has  been  cheated  of  his  just  deserts  in  not  receiving  similar 
honors,  for  he  first  brought  the  cherry  from  the  East  to  Italy. 

"You  use  axe  and  saw  more  vigorously  in  making  the  idols 
you  worship  than  in  destroying  the  bodies  of  the  Christians. 
We  are  condemned  to  dig  for  metals.  Thence  arise  your  gods. 
We  are  exiled  to  islands.  It  is  usually  in  an  island  somewhere 
that  your  gods  are  wont  to  be  born,  or  to  die.  If  any  divinity 
comes  from  that,  then  those  who  are  punished  are  sanctified, 
and  tortures  have  the  effect  of  rendering  the  victim  divine." 

The  style  of  the  Apologeticum  differs  from  that  of  the  De 
Pallio.  The  latter  is  shorter  and  its  object  is  less  definite: 
it  is  more  a  satire  in  the  strict  sense  of  the  word.  In  the 
Apologeticum  the  use  of  a  satirical  style  is  a  means  to  an  end, 
used  to  sharpen  the  weapons  of  the  invective  and  make  them 
more  telling.       There  is  scarcely  a  chapter  which  does  not 

2"  Similarity  in  thought  to  the  De  Pallio  is  quite  noticeable  here. 
21  Chapters  8,  9. 


TERTULLIAN  23 

ridicule  with  keen  irony  the  attitude  of  the  pagans,  or  con- 
vict them  in  fiery,  passionate  language  on  charges  graver  than 
their  own.  This  is  one  of  the  most  noticeable  characteristics 
of  Tertullian  as  a  writer.  He  occupies  an  anomalous  position 
as  the  representative  of  a  cause  supposed  to  be  harassed  and 
persecuted  and  on  the  defensive.  He  feels  more  at  home  as 
the  prosecuting  attorney  than  as  the  counsel  for  the  defense. 
Starting  out  to  defend  a  position  he  soon  ingeniously  manipu- 
lates his  arguments  so  as  to  put  himself  on  the  aggressive. 
He  is  never  content  with  clearing  his  party  of  the  charges 
against  it;  he  brings  counter-charges  against  the  accusers. 
Thus  it  has  been  said  of  the  Apologeticum,  "After  Tertullian's 
defense  the  magistrate  had  no  alternative  between  condemn- 
ing the  prisoner,  or — taking  his  place. "^- 

In  the  treatise  adverstis  Valentinianos  Tertullian  frankly 
avows  that  satire  is  his  aim ;  that  is,  he  announces  his  deliberate 
intention  of  attempting  to  make  the  adherents  of  that  heresy 
ridiculous.^^  In  a  very  naive,  frequently  most  amusing  fashion 
our  author  keeps  up  a  running  fire  of  humorous  satirical  com- 
ment on  the  fantastic  cosmogony  of    the  Valentinians,  and 

2^  Woodham,  TerluUiani  Liber  Apologelicus,  Preface,  p.  xliii.  The 
two  books  Ad,  Nationes  are  in  content  very  similar  to  the  Apologeticiim. 
Tertullian  takes  a  slightly  different  standpoint  here,  varying  with  the 
character  of  the  readers  for  whom  the  two  works  were  written.  While  the 
material  is  much  the  same,  the  treatment  in  the  Apologeticum  is  somewhat 
more  orderly,  and  the  element  of  law  and  governmental  policy  in  regard 
to  the  Christians  is  emphasized.  The  books  Ad  Nationes  were  directed, 
as  the  title  implies,  to  the  people  rather  than  to  the  magistrates,  and,  if 
possible,  are  even  more  sarcastic  and  uncompromising  in  their  indictment 
of  heathenism.  They  were  probably  written  about  the  same  time  as 
the  Apologeticum,  perhaps  as  a  rough  draft  later  expanded  into  the  other 
work.  Harnack,  Geschichte  der  alt-christlichen  Literatur,  II,  2,  257.  Hauck, 
Tertullians  Lehen  tind  Schrijten,  71  ff.  Schanz,  Geschichte,  Handbuch,  8, 
III,  286. 

^'  Ostendam,  sed  non  imprimam  vulnera.  Sed  si  ridebitur  alicubi, 
materiis  ipsis  satisfiet.  Multa  sunt  sic  digna  revinci,  ne  gravitate  adoren- 
tur.  Vanitate  proprle  fcstivitas  cedit.  Congruit  et  veritati  ridere,  quia 
laetans,  de  aemulis  suis  luderc,  quia  secura  est.  Curandum  plane  ne  risus 
eius  rideatur  si  fuerit  indignus;  ceterum  ubicunque  dignus  risus,  officium 
est.  Denique  hoc  modo  incipiam.  Chapter  6. 
3 


24      LATIN    SATIRICAL   WRITING    SUBSEQUENT   TO   JUVENAL 

undoubtedly  succeeds  in  his  effort  at  ridicule.  Thus,  in 
Chapter  15,  he  expounds  one  detail  of  the  origin  of  matter: 
"Come  now,  let  the  Pythagoreans  and  Stoics,  and  Plato 
himself,  learn  about  the  real  source  and  substance  of  matter, 
which  they  would  have  as  already  existent:  something  which 
not  even  Hermes  Trismegistus,  master  of  all  physicists,  ever 
thought  of.  .  .  .  For  from  her  tears  (namely  those  of  Acha- 
moth,  one  of  the  strange  race  of  beings  created  by  the  Valen- 
tinian  system)  flowed  forth  all  water.  Observe  the  different 
kinds  of  tears  she  had :  salt  and  bitter  and  sweet  and  warm  and 
cold  drops  and  pitchy  and  iron-tasting  and  sulphurous  and 
poisonous,  so  that  thence  trickled  down  the  Nonacris,  which 
was  the  death  of  Alexander,  and  thence  the  river  of  the  Lyn- 
cestae,  which  makes  men  intoxicated,  and  thence  the  Sal- 
macis,  which  effeminates.  The  rains  of  heaven  sobbed  forth 
Achamoth  and  we  in  our  cisterns  take  pains  to  save  and  keep 
another's  grief  and  tears." 

There  are  other  works  of  Tertullian  in  which  the  satirical 
element  plays  a  more  or  less  important  part.  In  the  De 
Spectaculis  he  inveighs  against  the  theater,  charging  that 
men  go  there  to  see  what  they  abhor  outside.-*  The  last 
chapter  contains  a  vivid  and  mocking  picture  of  the  magnifi- 
cent spectacle, — far  greater  and  more  realistic  than  that 
shown  in  any  theater — which  will  one  day  be  presented  to 
the  saints  in  heaven  by  the  sight  of  the  tortures  of  the  damned. 

In  the  De  Cultu  Feminarum  he  satirizes  the  immoderate 
love  of  jewelry  and  fine  clothes,  and  excessive  care  of  the 
body,  which  were  becoming  all  too  prevalent  in  the  Christian 
Church  as  its  membership  came  to  include  the  wealthier 
classes. 2^  The  De  Pndicitia  and  the  De  leiuniis  deserve 
mention  also.^^ 

24  Cf.  Juvenal,  11,  165-6. 

2^  J.  W.  Mackail,  Latin  Literature,  p.  253.  Hauck,  Tertullians  Leben 
und  Schriften,  31  ff. 

2s  Schanz,  Geschichte,  III,  315.  Kriiger,  History  of  Early  Christian 
Literature,  p.  275. 


TERTULLIAN  25 

In  fact,  it  would  probably  be  difficult  to  find  any  of  Tcr- 
tullian's  works  in  which  he  did  not  avail  himself,  to  a  greater 
or  less  degree,  of  a  bitingly  satirical  style.  This  is  sometimes 
more  delicate,  as  in  the  De  Pallio,  and  sometimes  more  crude 
and  unrestrained,  as  in  some  of  the  controversial  works. 
But  at  least  enough  has  been  said  to  justify  the  inclusion  of 
Tertullian  in  such  a  survey  as  the  present.  Tertullian  alone 
furnishes  abundant  material  to  set  over  against  the  remarkable 
statement  of  Wernsdorf-'^  that  no  satire  will  be  found  among 
Christian  writers,  because  its  acrimony  and  bitterness  were 
contrary  to  the  holiness  and  charity  of  the  Christian  character. 

^^  Poeiae  Latini  Minores,  3,  Preface,  p.  xxv. 


COMMODIANUS 

In  regard  to  the  life,  or  even  nationality,  of  Commodianus, 
perhaps  the  earliest  Christian  writer  of  verse,  very  little  can 
be  definitely  determined.  He  is  mentioned  by  Pope  Ge- 
lasius,  who,  in  the  decree  de  libris  recipiendis  et  non  recipiendis, 
issued  in  496,  enumerates  the  works  of  Commodianus  among 
those  of  the  latter  class,  on  account  of  certain  doctrinal 
tendencies  shown  in  them;  and  by  Gennadius,  about  the 
same  date,  who  speaks  disparagingly  of  his  style. ^  Beyond 
these  references,  Commodianus'  own  writings  are  our  only 
source  of  information  about  himself,  and  widely  divergent 
opinions,  based  on  internal  evidence,  are  held  by  different 
scholars.  Ebert-  sees,  in  the  Carmen  Apologeticum,  808  ff., 
references  to  the  invasion  of  the  Goths  and  the  persecution 
of  the  Christians  during  the  reign  of  the  Emperor  Decius, 
and  sets  the  date  of  the  composition  at  249  a.  d.  This  is  also 
the  opinion  of  Schanz^,  Manitius,'*  Dombart,^  and  others. 
Julicher^  and  Harnack^  allow  latitude  of  a  century  later, 
while  Brewer^  argues  strongly  for  as  late  a  time  as  the  middle 
of  the  fifth  century.  Commodianus  was  probably  an  African,^ 
though  the  prefix  nomen  Gasei  of  the  last  poem  of  the  second 

'  Scripsit  mediocri  sermone  quasi  versu  adversus  paganos.  .  .  .  vili 
satis  et  crasso  ut  ita  dixerim  sensu  disseruit,  illis  (the  pagans)  stuporem, 
nobis  desperationem  incutiens.     De  viris  illustribus,  15. 

2  Abhandlungen  der  koniglichen  sachsischen  Gesellschaft  der  Wissen- 
schaften,  5  (1870),  387  flf. 

^  Geschichte,  III,  427. 

^  Geschichte  der  christlich-lateinischen  Poesie,  28  ff. 

^  Edition  of  Commodianus,  Volume  XV  of  tiie  Corpus  Scriptorutn  Ec- 
clesiasHcorum  Latinorum,  Prefacfe,  p.  i-ii. 

^  Pauly-Wissowa's  Realencyclopddie,  4,  773. 

^  Geschichte  der  alt-christlichen  Literatur,  II,  2,  436. 

8  Kommodian  von  Gaza,  29  ff. 

'  Manitius,  Geschichte,  p.  29. 

26 


COMMODIANUS  27 

book  of  the  Instnictiones  is  also  taken  by  some  as  an  indi- 
cation that  he  was  a  native  of  Gaza  in  Palestine. ^°  But  any 
attempt  at  the  solution  of  these  problems  is  beyond  the 
range  of  the  present  investigation. 

Commodianus  wrote  in  dactylic  hexameter,  but  in  a  hex- 
ameter in  which  the  classical  rules  of  quantity  and  elision  are 
ignored.  The  style  is  hard  and  wooden  and  often  obscure, 
but  this  is  to  be  ascribed  to  the  fact  that  he  was  writing  to  be 
read  by  uneducated  people,  and  hence  employed  idioms  and 
artificial  devices,  such  as  the  acrostic  form,  suitable  for  this 
purpose. 

The  Carmen  Apologeticum  is  an  expository  and  descriptive 
poem,  urging  all  men  to  embrace  Christianity,  for  the  end  of 
the  world  is  near.  It  contains  considerable  theological 
dogma,  and  a  mystical  and  vivid  account  of  Antichrist  and 
the  end  of  the  world. 

The  two  books  of  Instructiones  are  made  up  of  short  poems 
in  which  the  initial  letters  of  the  lines,  taken  in  order,  give 
in  acrostic  form  the  title  of  the  poem.  Thus,  the  first  letters 
of  I,  I  form  PRAEFATIO,  of  i,  4  SATVRNVS,  and  so  on. 
Many  of  these  may  be  fitly  termicd  satires  against  the  pagan 
deities,  and  the  eager  zeal  of  the  new-made  convert^^  shows 
itself  clearly  in  the  scornful  portraits  he  draws  of  the  ancient 
gods. 

How,  he  asks,  could  Saturn  grow  old  if  he  was  a  god?  He 
was  really  a  mortal  king,  and  stupid  enough  to  swallow  a 
stone    in    place    of    his    own    son.^'-      And    as    for    Jupiter: 

De  Fulmine  Ipsius  lovis  Audite:^^ 
Dicitis  o  stulti:  lovis  tonat,  fulminat  ipse. 
Etsi  parvulitas  sic  sensit,  cur  anni  dicentes? 

1°  Ebert,  Abhandlungen  420,  Brewer,  162  ff.,  Boissier,  Melanges  Rcnicr, 

39- 

'1  Cf.  Gennadius,  1.  c.  Factus  itaque  Christianus  et  volens  aliquid  studi- 
orum  muneris  offerre  Christo,  etc. 

^^1,4. 
'3  I,  6. 


28      LATIN    SATIRICAL   WRITING   SUBSEQUENT   TO   JUVENAL 

Fuistis  infantes:  numquid  et  semper  eritis? 
Versari  maturum  in  infantia  non  capit  aevum 
Lusus  puerilis  cessit:  sic  et  corda  recedant; 
Moribus  utique  consilia  vestra  debentur. 
Insipiens  ergo  lovem  tonitruare  tu  credis 
Natum  hie  in  terris  et  lacte  caprino  nutritum; 
Ergo  si  ilium  devorasset  *  *  *  Saturnus, 

In  istis  temporibus  quis  pluebat  illo  defuncto? 
Praesertim  mortali  patre  deus  nasci  credatur? 
Saturnus  in  terris  senuit  et  defecit  in  ipsis. 
Ilium  non  aliquis  prophetavit  ante  pronasci. 
Vel,  si  tonat  ipse,  lex  ab  ipso  lata  fuisset. 
Seducunt  historiae  fatuos  confictae  inanes. 

Ille  autem  Cretae  regnavit  et  ibi  defecit. 
Omnipotens  vobis  factus  Semeles  amator. 
Vivus  ipse  modo  amaret  similiter  ille. 
Inpuros  oratis  et  dicitis  esse  caelestes 
Semine  mortali  natos  de  Gigantibus  illis. 

Auditis  et  legitis  natum  in  terra  fuisse: 
Unde  bene  meruit  corrupter  ascendere  caelum 
Dicitur  et  fulmen  Cyclopas  illi  fecisse, 
Inmortalis  enim  habuit  a  mortalibus  arma. 
Tot  reum  criminibus,  parricidam  quoque  suorum, 
Ex  auctoritate  vestra  contulistis  in  altum. 


Mercurius:^* 


Mercurius  vester  fiat  cum  saraballo  depictus 
Et  galea  et  planta  pinnatus  et  cetera  nudus. 
Rem  video  miram,  deum  cum  saccello  volare: 
Currite  pauperculi  cum  gremio  quo  volat  ille, 
Ut  sacculum  effundat,  vos  extunc  estote  parati. 
Respicite  pictum,  quoniam  vobis  hie  ab  alto 
lactabit  nummos;  vos  tunc  saltate  securi. 
Vane,  non  insanis,  colere  decs  pictos  in  axe? 
Si  vir  esse  nescis,  cum  besteis  perge  morari. 


Apollo  Sortilegus  Falsus:^^ 


Apollinem  facitis  citharoedum  atque  divinum. 
Primum  de  moechia  natus  in  insula  Delo; 
Oblata  mercede  postmodum  structuram  secutus 


"1.9. 
»  I,  II. 


COMMODIANUS  29 

Laomedontique  regi  Troianorum  muros  eduxit 
Locavitque  sese,  quern  deum  seducti  putatis; 
Ossibus  cuius  amor  Cassandrae  flagravit, 

Subdole  quern  lusit  virgo,  falliturque  divinus, 
Officio  verbenis  non  potuit  scire  bicordem; 
Repudiatus  enim  discessit  inde  divinus. 
Torruit  hunc  virgo  specie,  quam  ille  deberet. 
Ilia  prior  utique  debuerat  deum  amasse. 
Lascivientemque  Dafinem  sic  coepit  amare. 
Et  tamen  insequitur,  dum  vult  violare  puellam: 
Gratis  amat  stultus,  nee  potuit  consequi  cursu. 
Vel,  si  deus  erat,  occurreret  illi  per  auras; 
Sub  tectis  ilia  prior  venit,  remansitque  divinus. 

Fallit  vos  gens  hominum,  nam  vi  robusti  fuerunt. 
A  primitia  quoque  pecora  pavisse  refertur. 
Lusibus  in  positis  dum  mitteret  discum  in  altum, 
Sublapsum  non  potuit  retinere,  prostravit  amicum: 
Ultimus  ille  dies  fuit  Hyacinthi  sodalis. 
Si  divinus  erat,  mortem  praecessisset  amici. 

Thus  god  after  god  is  satirized  in  these  artificial  yet  earnest 

Httle  poems.     It  will  be  noticed  that  Commodianus  adopts 

at  times  the  well-known  device  of  introducing  a  fictitious 

single  interlocutor  into  the  midst  of  his  arguments.     Again, 

speaking  of  the  foolishness  of  the  age, — hebetvdo   saeculi, 

he  says:^^ 

Heu  doleo,  elves,  sic  vos  hebetari  de  mundo! 
Excurrit  alius  ad  sortes,  aves  aspicit  alter, 
Belantum  cruore  fuso  malus  inspicit  alter 
Et  cupit  audire  responsa  bona  crudelis. 
Tot  duces  et  reges  ubi  sunt  consulti  de  vita, 
Vel  portenta  sua  scisse  quo  profuit  illis? 
Discite  quaeso  bonum,  cives,  simulacra  cavete: 
Omnipotentis  enim  in  legem  quaerite  cuncti. 

Sic  ipsi  conplacuit  domino  dominorum  in  altis. 

Ad  probationem  nostram  daemones  in  mundo  vagari 

Et  tamen  ex  alia  parte  mandata  praemisit, 

Caelestis  fieri  qui  relinquant  aras  eorum. 

Unde  non  hoc  euro  disputare  parvo  libello: 

Lex  docet  in  medio;  vos  consulete  pro  vobis! 

In  duas  intrastis  vias:  condiscite  rectam. 


16 


I,  22. 


30      LATIN    SATIRICAL    WRITING    SUBSEQUENT    TO    JUVENAL 

The  point  of  view  here  is  not  dissimilar,  as  far  as  it  goes, 
to  that  of  the  Stoic  philosopher  in  the  Damasippus  satire  of 
Horace. 

In  the  second  book  of  the  Instructiones  Commodianus 
addresses  his  fellow-Christians  in  tones  of  reproof  and  ex- 
hortation. Poems  i8  and  19  deal  with  that  favorite  theme  of 
the  satirical  writer,  female  love  of  fine  clothes,  jewelry,  and 
personal  adornment. ^'^ 

These  acrostic  poems  are  rather  stiff  and  stilted,  as  such 
poems  generally  must  be.  Commodianus  was  not  a  poet  of 
high  rank,  and  was  not  writing  in  polished  verse  for  an  edu- 
cated body  of  readers.  His  style  shows  the  cramping  effects 
of  the  form  of  composition  chosen.  His  satire  is  not  that  of 
tolerant,  gentle  raillery  at  the  faults  and  foibles  of  mankind, 
nor  yet  of  indignant  invective  against  the  evil-doer.  His 
attacks  on  heathenism  are  of  the  common  type  to  be  found 
among  early  Christian  apologists.  Persecution  and  ridicule 
of  the  new  religion  engendered  a  spirit  of  intolerance  and 
obstinacy.  Commodianus'  satirical  acrostics  reflect  this 
feeling.  He  does  not  enter  into  serious  discussions  or  argu- 
ments, but  picks  out  a  myth  here  and  a  legend  there,  and 
takes  them  as  typical  and  as  a  complete  characterization  of 
the  person  or  attitude  which  he  wishes  to  satirize. 

"  Cf.  Tertullian,  De  Cultu  Feminarum.  Prudentius,  Hamartigenia , 
264  ff.     Hieronymus,  infra,  p.  91.     Juvenal,  6,  457  ff. 


ARNOBIUS 

According  to  St.  Jerome's  Chronicle,  for  the  year  2343 
(326  A.  D.),  Arnobius  was  a  citizen  of  the  town  of  Sicca,  in 
Niimidia.  He  was  a  teacher  of  rhetoric,  numbering  Lactan- 
tius  among  his  pupils,^  and  a  prominent  opponent  of  the 
Christians.  But,  influenced  by  dreams,  he  renounced  his 
former  beHefs,  and  sought  to  join  the  Christians.  The  bishop 
to  whom  he  applied  for  admission  to  the  Church  was,  not 
unnaturally,  somewhat  skeptical  of  the  sincerity  of  such  an 
unexpected  convert,  and  demanded  some  proof  of  his  good 
faith.  It  was  to  satisfy  this  requirement,  the  story  goes, 
that  Arnobius  wrote  his  seven  books  Adversiis  Gentes,  or 
Adversus  Nationes,  as  the  manuscript  evidence  favors.  This 
account  is  open  to  some  criticism,^  but  as  there  are  some  evi- 
dences of  hurry  and  incompleteness  in  the  work,  and  the  au- 
thor's acquaintance  with  the  Christian  faith  appears  rather 
limited,  it  may  be  taken  as  essentially  reliable.^  The  date 
given  by  St.  Jerome  is  probably  wrong.'*  The  work  is  dated 
by  Harnack^  from  304  to  310  a.  d. 

The  seven  books  may  be  divided  as  follows:''  Books  i 
and  2  are  of  a  purely  apologetic  character.  Their  tone  is  in 
the  main  that  of  a  dispassionate  (familiari  et  placida  oratione 
I,  2)  examination  into  and  refutation  of  various  charges  that 
had  been  brought  against  the  Christians,  interspersed  with 
more  or  less  of  philosophical  discussion,  as  to  the  nature  of 
evil,  of  the  human  soul,  etc.  Arnobius  points  out  that  many 
charges  are  entirely  baseless;  that  in  regard   to  others  the 

^  Hieronymus,  De  Viris  Illiistrihus,  80. 

^  E.  g.  Bryce  and  Campbell,  The  Seven  Books  of  Arnobius  Adversus 
Gentes,  Introduction,  p.  x. 

^  Schanz,  Geschichte,  III,  439-40.     Cruttwell,  Literary  History,  2,  631. 
^  See  Bryce  and  Campbell,  Introduction,  i-ii. 
*  Geschichte,  II,  2,  415. 

^  Ebert,  Geschichte,  65.     Cruttwell,  Literary  History,  2,  638. 

31 


32      LATIN   SATIRICAL   WRITING   SUBSEQUENT   TO   JUVENAL 

facts  are  distorted  and  exaggerated,  and  that  even  were  they 
true,  they  could  easily  be  paralleled  by  more  extreme  cases 
from   heathen   mj^thology. 

Books  3-7  are  of  a  different  sort.  Instead  of  being  apolo- 
getic, defensive,  they  are  polemical,  aggressive,  and  often 
strongly  satirical.  Arnobius  is  still  arguing,  and  keeps  the 
idea  of  a  definite  opponent  before  us  constantly  by  his  rhe- 
torical use  of  the  second  person  plural,  and  by  such  words 
as  inqidt,  inquiiint,  etc.,  but  frequently  he  is  carried  away 
by  his  earnestness,  and  in  addition  to  argument,  he  overwhelms 
his  adversary  with  sarcastic  pictures  of  the  utter  absurdity 
and  illogicalness  of  his  religious  systems.  Books  3-5  are 
directed  against  the  heathen  polytheism,  6  and  7  against 
their  rites  and  forms  of  worship.  His  attack  on  heathenism 
is  much  abler  than  his  defence  of  Christianity.^ 

A  brief  survey  of  the  last  five  books  may  illustrate  the  oc- 
casions and  methods  of  Arnobius'  use  of  satire. 

It  is  to  be  noted  at  the  outset  that  Arnobius  was  anything 
but  fastidious  in  the  choice  of  his  material.  Being  desirous 
of  depicting  his  opponents'  religion  in  the  worst  possible 
light,  he  narrates  some  of  the  most  scandalous  and  immoral 
stories  about  the  gods  that  he  can  lay  his  hands  on,  and  makes 
them  the  object  of  his  satirical  rhetoric.  To  modern  feeling 
he  goes  far  beyond  the  limit  he  professes  to  set  up  in  Book  5, 
Chapter  27:  "0  qualia,  o  quanta  inridentes  potuimns  cavil- 
lantesque  depromere,  si  non  religio  nos  gentis  et  litterarum 
prohiberet  atictoritas."  The  auctoritas  litterarum  does  not 
seem  to  have  restrained  him  from  repeating  a  good  deal  of 
coarseness. 

In  Book  3  Arnobius  points  out  that  the  heathen  cannot 
prove  that  there  may  not  be  other  gods  beside  those  they  wor- 
ship, of  unknown  name  and  unlimited  numbers.  Their  gods, 
moreover,  are  constantly  spoken  of  as  if  divided  into  two 
sexes,  like  mortals.      Cicero  showed   the   absurdity  of   this. 

^  Alzog,  Handbuch  der  Patrologie,  206.  Cruttwell,  Literary  History,  2, 
638.     Meyer,  De  ratione  et  argumento  apologetici  Arnobiani,  217. 


ARNOBIUS  33 

Chapter  lo  contains  in  drastic  language  a  scornful  picture 
of  the  conditions  which  must  necessarily  result  from  sex 
distinctions  among  the  gods.  It  is  senseless  to  believe  that 
they  really  have  bodies,  and  irreverent  to  endow  them  with 
bodily  attributes   otherwise. 

He  next  satirizes  the  offices  attributed  to  the  various  deities. 
"I  ask  you:  what  reason  is  there,  what  stern  necessity,  what 
occasion  for  the  gods  to  have  learned  and  be  acquainted  with 
these  trades,  as  if  they  were  good-for-nothing  mechanics? 
For  in  heaven  there  is  song  and  music:  that  the  nine  sisters 
may  skilfully  join  and  harmonize  times  and  rhythms.  In 
the  stars  are  forests,  groves,  woods:  for  Diana's  benefit,  the 
mighty  huntress.  .  .  .  The  gods  are  seized  by  disease,  wounded, 
hurt:  that  he  of  Epidaurus  may  heal  them.  .  .  .  They  are 
in  need  of  garments:  that  the  Tritonian  maiden  may  deftly 
weave  for  them,  and  fit  them  out  with  three-ply  tunics,  or 
silken,  according  to  the  weather."^ 

And  again:  "Unxia,  they  say,  presides  over  anointings, 
Cinxia  over  unloosings,  and  most  holy  Victa  and  Potua  over 
eating  and  drinking.  O  excellent  and  wonderful  interpre- 
tation of  the  divine  powers!  Unless  brides  smeared  with 
ointment  their  husbands'  door-posts,  unless  ardent  husbands 
unbound  the  virgin  girdle,  unless  people  ate  and  drank, 
would  the  gods  not  have  names?  "^ 

'  Rogo:  quae  ratio  est,  quae  tam  dura  necessitas,  quae  causa,  ut  arti- 
ficia  haec  superi  tamquam  viles  noverint  atque  habeant  sellularii?  In 
caelo  enim  cantatur  et  psallitur:  ut  intervalla  et  numeros  vocum  novem 
conserant  scitule  ac  modulenter  sorores.  Sunt  in  sidereis  motibus  silvae, 
sunt  lustra,  sunt  nemora:  ut  venationum  pracpotens  liabeatur  in  expedi- 
tionibus  Diana.  .  .  .  Corripiuntur  dii  morbis  et  vulnerari,  vexari  aliqua 
ex  re  possunt:  ut  cum  exegerit  ratio,  auxiliator  subveniat  Epidaurius.  .  .  . 
Vestis  indigent  tegmine:  ut  virgo  Tritonia  curiose  eis  stamen  neat  et  quali- 
tate  pro  temporis  aut  trilices  tunicas  aut  de  serico  componat.  Etc. 
Book  3,  Chapter  21. 

^  Unctionibus,  inquit,  superest  Unxia,  cingulorum  Cinxia  rcplicatione, 
Victa  et  Potua  sanctissimae  victui  potuique  procurant.  O  egregia  numinum 
et  singularis  interpretatio  potestatum:  nisi  postes  virorum  adipali  unguine 
oblinerentur  ab  sponsis,  nisi  virginalia  vincula  iam  ferventes  dissolverent 
atque  imminentes  mariti,  nisi  potarent  et  manderent  homines,  di  nomina 
non  haberent?     Book  3,  Chapter  25. 


34      LATIN    SATIRICAL   WRITING   SUBSEQUENT   TO   JUVENAL 

The  myths  themselves  are  so  inconsistent  as  to  render  it 
impossible  to  believe  in  the  old  gods.  If  Janus  is  the  year, 
he  cannot  have  built  Janiculum.  If  Jove  is  the  ether,  he 
cannot  have  been  concealed  from  his  father  in  a  Cretan  cave. 
If  Bacchus  and  Apollo  and  the  sun  are  all  the  same  thing, 
then  there  cannot  be  either  a  Bacchus  or  Apollo,  and  thus  at 
one  blow  are  wiped  out  of  existence  "  Setneleius,  Pytliiiis, 
alter  feculantae  hiJaritatis  dator,  Sminthiorum  alter  pernicies 
murur)!.'" 

In  Book  4  Arnobius  shows  the  absurdity  of  assuming  gods 
of  common  things,  for  it  is  impossible  to  know  when  to  stop, 
and  there  might  as  well  be  special  deities  presiding  over  the 
most  insignificant  trifles.  Sometimes  several  names  are 
given  to  one  god,  sometimes  several  gods  are  given  one  name. 
If  all  the  stories  are  true,  there  must  be  five  Minervas  instead 
of  one.  Chapter  i6  contains  an  amusing,  satirical  picture 
of  the  complications  that  might  ensue  if  the  five  goddesses 
should  fly  up  and  wrangle  over  which  one  was  entitled  to 
the  benefits  of  a  given  sacrifice.  In  Chapters  20,  21,  he  heaps 
ironical  question  on  ironical  question:  do  the  gods,  then, 
have  betrothals  and  marriages,  like  mortals?  And  was 
Jupiter,  the  terrible  god  of  the  thunderbolt,  once  lulled  to 
sleep  with  the  noise  of  rattles  and  broken  words? 

In  Book  5  the  same  arguments  are  continued.  Arnobius 
relates  several  of  the  ancient  myths  at  length,  such  as  the 
deception  of  Jupiter  by  Numa,  the  story  of  Acdestis,  of  Attis, 
and  others,  showing  with  keen  satire  the  absurdity  and  in- 
decency of  such  religious  beliefs,  and  how  immoral  and  de- 
grading it  is  that  such  tales  should  be  told  about  one  who  is 
worshiped  as  the  Supreme  Ruler  of  the  universe.  To  the 
plea  that  they  are  not  literally  true,  but  mere  allegories,  that 
the  names  of  divinities  are  used  symbolically  for  common 
things,  as  "Jove"  for  "rain,"  "Ceres"  for  "earth,"  etc., 
he  returns  answer  that  such  an  explanation  is  inconsistent 
and  impossible,  "because  everything  which  has  been  done 
and  set  down  in  a  book  cannot  be  turned  into  an  allegory, 


ARNOBIUS  35 

nor  can  a  thing  done  be  undone,  or  the  nature  of  an  event  be 
changed  to  something  entirely  different.  Can  the  Trojan 
war  become  the  condemnation  of  Socrates?  or  the  battle  of 
Cannae  the  cruel  proscription  of  Sulla? "^'^  This  book  closes 
with  the  satirical  exclamation  "  Verecundia  laude  condigna! 
Eruhescitis  panem  et  vinum  nominare  et  pro  coitu  Venerem 
non   metuitis  dicere." 

Books  6  and  7  are  devoted  to  a  satirical  exposition  of  the 
absurdity  of  the  heathen  methods  of  worship.  The  finest 
temples  must  seem  like  base  huts  to  the  gods,  who  can  have 
no  need  of  shelter.  Statues  of  the  gods  do  not  represent  the 
deity,  but  the  wanton  fancy  of  the  artists,  who  "alter  alterum 
vincere  contentiosa  aemulatione  quaerebant,  non  Venus  ut 
augustior  fieret  sed  ut  Phryna  pro  Venere  staret."  Do  the 
gods  dwell  in  figures  of  earthenware,  or  expand  or  contract 
themselves  to  fit  the  size  of  the  images?  If  they  are  in  the 
statues  and  temples,  why  do  not  they  protect  them  from 
destruction?  "O  dreadful  forms  of  terror  and  fear,  to  in- 
spire such  lasting  awe  in  the  human  breast  as  to  restrain 
mankind  from  all  deeds  of  evil  and  crime,— little  sickles  and 
keys  and  caps  and  sandals  and  staves  and  cups  and  musical 
instruments  and  horns  of  fruit,  naked  bodies  and  obscenities 
unashamed  !"^^ 

The  sacrifice  of  innocent  animals  is  satirized  in  7,  9  by  a 
speech  put  in  the  mouth  of  an  ox.  The  belief  in  gaining  divine 
favor  by  sacrifice  is  reduced  to  an  absurdity:  suppose  two 
warring  nations  should  offer  equal  sacrifices,  would  not  the 
gods  be  at  a  loss  which  side  to  aid?  Why,  he  ironically  asks, 
do  you  offer  special  sacrificial  animals  to  special  gods?  Do 
they  have  religious  scruples,  or  weak  digestions?     "O  marve- 

^"5.38. 

"  O  species  formidinum  dirae  metuendique  terrores,  propter  quos  genus 
hominum  torpedine  in  perpetua  adfigeretur,  nihil  moliretur  attonitum  ab 
omnique  se  actu  sceleroso  flagitiosoque  frenaret:  falciculae  claves  caliandria 
fomites  talaria  baculi  tympaniola  tibiae  psalteria,  mammae  promptae 
atque  ingentes,  cantharuli  forcipes  cornuaque  pomifera,  nuda  corpora 
feminarum  et  veretrorum  magnitudines  publicatae!     6,  26. 


36      LATIN    SATIRICAL   WRITING   SUBSEQUENT   TO   JUVENAL 

lous  magnitude  of  the  gods,  comprehended  by  no  mortal 
man,  or  by  any  creature,  if  indeed  their  good-will  is  to  be 
obtained  by  the  most  worthless  parts  of  beasts,  if  they  do 
not  lay  aside  their  anger  till  they  see  entrails  and  offae  offered 
up  on  their  altars. "^^ 

Almost  everyone  will  agree  with  the  judgmentof  St.  Jerome, ^^ 
"  Arnobius  inaegiialis  et  nimius,et  absque  operis  sui  partitione 
conjusiis."  He  does  not  know  moderation,  and  his  incessant 
use  of  sarcasm  and  scornful  query  palls  on  his  readers  in  a 
short  time.  His  style  is  artificial  and  tiresome — no  other 
man  ever  used  the  rhetorical  question  so  much  as  Arnobius 
did.^*  But  some  allowance  must  be  made  for  the  probability 
that  the  work  never  underwent  a  revision,  which  might  have 
removed  some  of  its  defects.  On  the  other  hand,  there  are 
many  points  of  interest  in  Arnobius'  work.  It  is  valuable 
for  its  array  of  mythical  legends  and  obscure  rites  of  worship, 
and  for  its  richness  of  vocabulary. ^^  It  is  also  valuable  as  a 
good  example  of  controversial  writing  of  a  certain  type  by  an 
able  and  intelligent  man,  who,  whatever  his  deficiencies  as  as 
apologist,  lacked  nothing  in  zeal  or  in  the  ability  to  pierce 
the  weak  points  in  his  enemies'  armor  with  a  sharp  and  biting 
satire.^^ 

12  O  deorum  magnitude  mirabilis,  o  nullis  hominum  comprehensa,  nullis 
intellecta  naturis  siquidem  ut  prosint  testiculis  pecudum  redimuntur 
et  rumis,  neque  prius  iras  atque  animos  ponunt  nisi  sibi  adoleri  paratas 
conspexerint  nenias  offasque  reddier  penitas.     7,  25. 

"  Epistle  58,  10  (Ad  Paulinum). 

"  Norden,  Die  Antike  Kunstprosa,  2,  605.  Schanz,  Geschichte,  III,  444. 
Kriiger,  History  of  Early  Christian  Literature,  306. 

1^  Cruttwell,  Literary  History,  2,  641.  Bryce  and  Campbell,  Introduc- 
tion, p.  xiv-xv. 

1^  Such  satire  of  superstitious  beliefs  as  is  found  in  Arnobius  and  others 
of  the  Christian  writers  may  be  paralleled  in  a  measure  by  the  section  of 
Juvenal's  sixth  satire,  from  line  511  on,  with  its  references  to  the  credulous, 
blind  obedience  yielded  to  Oriental  fakirs  by  ignorant  women,  and  their 
belief  in  Jewish  and  Chaldaean  fortune-tellers.  Entirely  different,  however, 
are  such  matters  as  the  "  Thessala  philtra"  of  Juvenal,  6,  610  f.,  and  the 
woollen  and  waxen  images  of  Horace's  eighth  satire  of  the  first  book.  These 
are  not  connected  with  religion  at  all,  properly  speaking,  but  are  survivals 
of  a  very  wide-spread,  primitive  belief  in  magic. 


AUSONIUS 

Decimus  Magnus  Ausonius  of  Burdigala  (Bordeaux), 
310-395  A.  D.,  professor  of  rhetoric,  tutor  to  the  young  prince 
Gratianus,  man  of  letters  and  learning,  public  ofificial,  and  poet, 
was  apparently  a  man  of  singularly  fortunate  circumstances 
and  gentle,  contented  disposition.  Yet  it  is  not  unreasonable 
that  such  a  man  should  at  times  have  employed  the  pen  of 
satire.  Horace  also  was  under  the  highest  patronage,  and 
calm  and  even-tempered.  We  should  not  be  surprised, 
however,  to  find  that  satirical  writing  in  the  sense  of  indignant 
invective,  or  bitter  irony,  was  distasteful  to  him  and  foreign 
to  his  nature. 

Thus  in  writing  commemorationes  of  his  friends  and  col- 
leagues, he  praises  his  friend  Tiberius  Victor  Minervius,  an 
eminent  orator,  for  the  fact  that 

Nullo  felle  tibi  mens  livida,  turn  sale  multo 
Lingua  dicax  blandis  et  sine  lite  iocis.^ 

Similarly  Attius  Patera,  a  rhetorician,  is  characterized  as 
being,  among  his  other  admirable  qualities, 
Salibus  modestus  felle  nullo  perlitis.^ 

The  same  quality  is  referred  to  in  both  passages.  Bright- 
ness and  wit,  "nullo  felle,"  without  sarcasm  and  bitterness, 
are  to  Ausonius  qualities  to  be  admired. 

Of  even  more  importance  is  his  letter  to  Tetradius  the 
satirist,^  in  which  he  writes:  "Tetradius,  you  who  enrich  the 
wit  of  old  from  your  abundant  store  of  eloquence,  and  take 
pains  lest  your  compositions  be  harsh  and  bitter,  lacking 
pleasantness;  who  mingling  honey  and  gall  in  the  same  song 

1  Com.  Prof.,  I,  31-2. 

2  Com.  Prof.,  4,  19. 
'  Epistle  II. 

37 


^.\.i 


^'im 


38      LATIN   SATIRICAL   WRITING   SUBSEQUENT   TO   JUVENAL 

allow  the  Muses  no  rest,  who  color  equally  what  is  flat  to  the 
taste  and  what  is  harsh ;  who  surpass  the  rude  verses  of  Suessa 
(Lucilius)  and  yield  in  age  but  not  in  ability:"  etc.^ 

This  letter  is  of  value  not  only  objectively  for  the  reference 
to  Tetradlus,  but  subjectively  for  its  light  on  Ausonius' 
attitude.  Tetradius  takes  pains  not  to  make  his  satires 
gloomy  and  unpleasant:  that  constitutes  part  of  their  charm 
in  Ausonius'  eyes.  It  seems  fairly  clear  that  he  had  little 
sympathy  or  liking  for  invective  and  sarcasm.  Is  this  perhaps 
to  be  taken  as  a  reference  to  contemporary  writers  of  such 
a   character? 

But  surely  epigrams,  of  which  Ausonius  wrote  a  great 
number,  are  naturally  of  a  certain  unpleasantness  and  sharp- 
ness. What  are  we  to  think  of  Ausonius'  epigrams?  It  is 
hardly  possible  to  take  them  as  being  altogether  serious 
expressions  of  the  poet's  thought.  Many  of  them  are  avowed- 
ly mere  translations  from  the  Greek,  probably  made  not  so 
much  from  an  interest  in  their  content  as  from  a  desire  to 
exercise  his  skill  in  reproducing  their  form.  The  mixture  of 
Greek  and  Latin  verses,  half-verses,  and  words,  the  almost 
endless  variations  on  the  same  themes,  preclude  the  possi- 
bility of  viewing  the  epigrams  as  anything  more  than  rhetorical 
exercises,  for  the  pure  pleasure  of  making  formally  correct 
verses,  and  based  on  the  most  convenient  models  at  hand.^ 

We  know  that  Ausonius  must  have  been  somewhat  acquainted 
with  Lucilius,  even  if  only  through  anthologies,  for  he  refers 

^  O  qui  vetustos  uberi  facundia 

Sales  opimas  Tetradi, 
Cavesque  ne  sit  tristis  et  dulci  carens 

Amara  concinnatio, 
Qui  felle  carmen  atque  melle  temperans 

Torpere  Musas  non  sinis 
Pariterque  fucas,  quaeque  gustu  ignava  sunt, 

Et  quae  sapore  tristia; 
Rudes  Camenas  qui  Suessae  praevenis 

Aevoque  cedis,  non  stilo:  etc. 

^Schanz,  Geschichte,  IV,  i,  30-31,  38-39. 


AUSONIUS  39 

to  him  several  times,  and  often  imitates  liis  style.  In  the 
letter  quoted  above,  it  is  Lucilius  whom  he  takes  as  a  standard 
with  which  to  compare  Tetradius.  In  Epistle  i6  he  gives 
an  example  of  Lucilian  tmesis: 

35  Invenies  praesto  subiuncta  petorrita  mulis: 

Villa  Lucani-  mox  potieris  -aco; 
Rescisso  disces  conponere  nomine  vcrsum 
Lucili  vatis  sic  imitator  eris. 

His  use  of  such  queer  combinations  as  "gelidoTpoMcpot," 
"xoXi;cantica,"  "xoXurisa,"  "forw,"  "causats/'etc,  as  are 
found  in  Epistle  8,  are  clearly  modelled  after  such  Lucilian 
phrases  as  "eyTrarepetam,"  "vinoTo  bonoto,"  etc.^ 

The  little  poem  De  Herediolo,"^  said  to  be  written  " Liiciliano 
stilo,''^  is  of  a  very  Horatian   tone  and  sentiment.     E.   g.: 

Parvum  herediolum,  fateor,  set  nulla  fuit  res 
10  Parva   umquam  acquanimis,   adde  etiam   unanimis. 

Ex  animo  rem  stare  aequum  puto,  non  animum  ex  re.^ 

Cuncta   cupit   Croesus,    Diogenes   nihilum: 
Spargit  Aristippus  mediis  in   Syrtibus  aurum,!" 
Aurea  non  satis  est  Lydia  tota  Midae. 
15  Cui  nuUus  fuit  cupiendi,  est  nullus  habendi; 

Ille  opibus  modus  est  quem  statuas  animo. 

Another  kind  of  quasi-satirical  writing  is  to  be  seen  in  some 
of  Ausonius'  letters  to  Theon,  of  which  he  himself  says, 
"instaurata  est  satirica  et  ridicula  concinnatio,''^^  as  for  ex- 
ample in  14,  44  ff.,  where  he  jokingly  invests  him  with  all 
the  graces  of  Adonis,  or  in  15,  where  he  devotes  twenty-five 
lines  to  a  piling  up  of  paraphrases  of  the  number  "30,"  in  an 

^  Birt,  Zwei  Politische  Satiren  des  Alien  Rom.,   p.   ']\-']2.     Ribbeck, 
Geschichle,  3,  345. 
'  Domestica,  i . 

*  On  account  of  the  moral  aphorisms  in  it.  Cf.  L.  Miiller,  Lucilius,  p. 
298,  40. 

*  Cf.  Horace,  Epistles,  I,  11,  29-30: 

Quod    petis,    hie   est; 
Est  Ulubris,  animus  si  te  non  deficit  acquus. 
1"  Cf.  Horace,  Sermones,  H,  3,  100  ff. 
"  Epistle  15,  8. 
4 


40      LATIN    SATIRICAL   WRITING   SUBSEQUENT   TO   JUVENAL 

exaggerated  effort  to  explain  to  Theon's  pretended  ignorance 

how  many  he  means. ^^     But  this  is  all  in  fun,  merely  gentle, 

good-natured  teasing  of  a  friend. ^^ 

^'^  "Quod  si  .  .  .  ignorat  alto  mens  obesa  viscere. " 
^'  Pichon,  Les  dernier s  ecrivains  profanes,  p.  183. 


TETRADIUS 

Tetradius,  a  grammarian  of  about  the  middle  of  the  fourth 
century,  at  IcuHsma  (Angouleme),  is  known  to  us  only 
from  a  letter  to  him  from  Ausonius,  whose  pupil  he  had  been. 
We  have  none  of  his  works,  but  know  that  he  wrote  satires 
in  imitation  of  Lucilius. 

Ausonius,  in  Epistle  ii,  addressing  Tetradius,  says: 

O  qui  vetustos  uberi  facundia 

Sales  opimas  Tetradi, 
Cavesque  ne  sit  tristis  et  dulci  carens 

Amara  concinnatio, 
Qui  felle  carmen  atque  melle  temperans 

Torpere  Musas  non  sinis 
Pariterque  fucas,  quaeque  gustu  ignava  sunt, 

Et  quae  sapore  tristia; 
Rudes  Camenas  qui  Suessae  praevenis 

Aevoque  cedis,  non  stilo:  etc.^ 

From  this  we  may  conclude  that  the  satires  of  Tetradius 
were  wntten  in  the  Lucilian  style;  but  whether  this  refers  to 
their  method  of  treatment  of  their  subjects,  or  merely  to  an 
external  imitation  of  Lucilius'  phraseology  and  mixture  of 
Latin  with  Greek  in  his  poetry,  is  not  certain.^ 

^  Cf.  above,  p.  37. 

'Ribbeck,  Ceschichte,  3,  344-345. 


41 


SULPICIA 

Of  uncertain  date  and  authorship  is  the  poem  of  70  hexa- 
meters discovered  at  Bobbio  in  1493  and  generally  known  as 
"  Sulpiciae  satira.''  This  takes  the  form  of  a  dialogue  be- 
tween the  poetess^  and  the  Muse.  It  is  not  really  a  satire  at 
alP  but  merely  a  complaint  at  the  evil  times  under  Domitian, 
especially  his  expulsion  of  the  philosophers  (vv.  37-8).  The 
Muse  replies  with  the  comforting  prophecy  of  the  speedy  fall 
of   the   tyrant. 

There  is  no  manuscript  authority  for  the  use  of  the  word 
*'satira"  in  the  title  of  this  poem,  and  the  most  recent  editors 
agree  from  considerations  of  internal  evidence  that  it  cannot 
have  been  written  by  the  Roman  poetess  Sulpicia  quoted  by 
Martial.^  Probably  it  was  the  work  of  some  literary  novice, 
perhaps  as  a  school  exercise;^  and  is  dated  by  Baehrens  a 
little  after  the  time  of  Ausonius.^ 

1  That  the  (ostensible)  writer  is  a  woman  is  clear  from  v.  8  "prima,"  etc. 
-  Cf.  Bernhardy,  Crundriss  der  Romischen  Literatur,  p.  564. 

'X,35;  38. 

■•  Eskuche,  Rheinisches  Museum,  45  (1890),  388.  Ribbeck,  Geschichte, 
3,  286.     Schanz,  Geschichte,  II,  2,  164. 

^  The  text  is  printed  in  Baehrens,  Poetae  Lalini  Minores,  5,  93  ff. 


42 


PRUDENTIUS 

For  information  regarding  the  life  of  Aurelius  Prudentius 
Clemens,  though  he  was  the  greatest  and  most  versatile  of 
Christian  Latin  poets,  we  are  confined  to  what  we  can  learn 
from  his  own  works.  He  was  born,  evidently,  in  the  year 
348,  in  Spain — the  exact  location  is  disputed — and  was  active 
in  public  life.  He  studied  rhetoric,  became  an  advocate, 
twice  served  as  governor  of  a  province,  and  later  held  some 
court  position  of  honor  by  the  appointment  of  the  Emperor 
Theodosius.  In  this  later  life  he  devoted  himself  to  the 
writing  of  poems,  and  published  his  collection  of  works  in. 
the  year  404/5,  in  the  57th  year  of  his  age.  The  date  of  his 
death   is   unknown. 

Prudentius'  poetry  covers  a  wide  range  of  form  and  subject, 
though  in  general  a  spirit  of  aggressive  Christianity  runs 
through  all  his  writing.  It  may  be  an  exaggerated  praise 
to  call  him,  with  Bentley,  "the  Horace  and  Vergil  of  the 
Christians,"  but  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  one  who  excelled 
in  lyric,  in  satire,  in  didactic  and  allegorical  poetry,  deserves 
to  be  classed  as  more  than  an  ordinary  versifier.^ 

His  lyrical  poems— a  collection  of  hymns,  and  verses  in 
praise  of  Christian  martyrs — need  not  occupy  our  attention, 
but  considerable  material  of  interest  will  be  found  in  his  hex- 
ameter writings.  He  composed  three  didactic-dogmatic  or 
allegorical  poems,  the  Apotheosis,  the  Hamartigenia,  and  the 
Psychomachia.  In  the  latter,  which  contains  many  reminis- 
cences of  Vergil,  the  various  virtues  and  vices  of  human  nature 
are  personified  and  do  battle  with  each  other  for  the  dominion 
of  the  soul.  It  is  one  of  the  earliest  examples  which  have 
come  down  to  us  of  allegory  pure  and  simple,  although  of 

^  Boissier,  La  fin  du  paganisnie,  2,  135. 

43 


44      LATIN   SATIRICAL   WRITING   SUBSEQUENT   TO   JUVENAL 

course  personification  of  abstract  qualities  is  a  literary  device 
which  was  even  then  centuries  old.  Occasionally  the  allegory 
contains  a  trace  of  veiled  satire,  as,  for  example,  the  following 
description  put  in  the  mouth  of  Discordia,  who  was  caught 
in  an  attempt  to  assassinate  Concordia: 

Ilia 
Exanguis  turbante  metu:  "Discordia  dicor, 
710  Cognomento  Heresis:  Deus  est  mihi  discolor"  inquit 

"Nunc  minor  aut  maior,  modo  duplex  et  modo  simplex, 
Cum  placet,  aerius,  et  de  phantasmate  visus, 
Aut  innata  anima  est,  quotiens  volo  ludere  numen: 
Praeceptor  Bella  mihi,  domo  et  plaga  mundus." 

These  various  descriptions  of  the  Deity  correspond  to  the 
teachings  of  various  heretical  sects  of  that  period,  as  is  more 
clearly  brought  out  in  the  Apotheosis. 

The  Apotheosis  is  a  didactic  poem  of  1084  verses  in  which 
Prudentius  reviews  and  refutes  several  of  the  most  prominent 
heresies,  such  as  those  of  the  Patripassians,  who  held  that  it 
was  actually  God  the  Father  who  suffered  on  the  Cross,  of 
the  Sabellians,  who  differed  from  the  orthodox  Trinitarians, 
of  the  Jews,  the  Ebionites  or  "Homuncionitae,"  itself  a  satir- 
ical appellation,  who  denied  the  divinity  of  Christ,  and  finally 
the  Manichaeans,  who  held  that  Christ  was  a  mere  image, 
"aerius,"  '^ phantasma,"  etc.  Passages  where  a  satirical  treat- 
ment is  employed  are  not  wanting  here,  as,  for  example,  the 
following  reference  to  the  ancient  philosophers,  addressed  to 
Sabellius: 

200  Consule  barbati  deliramenta  Platonis 

Consule  et  hircosus  Cynicus  quos  sompniat,  et  quos 
Texit  Aristoteles  torta  vertigine  nervos. 

Or  this,  to  the  Jews: 

Pascha  tuum  die,  die,  cuius  de  sanguine  festum 
Tarn  sollempne  tibi  est?  quis  tandem  caeditur  agnus 
350  Anniculus,  sacer  ille  tibi  redeuntibus  annis? 

Sed  sacer  in  pecude,  stultum  est  sic  credere  sacrum: 
Sanguine  balantis  summos  contingere  postes, 
Lascivire  choris,  similaginis  azymon  esse, 
Cum  fermentati  turgescant  crimine  mores. 


PRUDENTIUS  45 

Or  this,  to  Manichaeus: 

980  Obmutesce,  furor;  linguam,  canis  improbe,  morde 

Ipse  tuam,  lacero  consumens  verba  palato. 

Another  body  of  heretics  is  made  the  object  of  attack  in 
the  Hamartigenia,  or  Origin  of  Evil.  These  are  the  Mar- 
cionites,  a  sect  previously  strongly  assailed  by  Tertullian 
and  others.  They  believed  in  a  system  of  dualism,  according 
to  which  the  God  revealed  in  the  Old  Testament  is  the  creator 
of  evil,  and  the  God  of  the  New  Testament  is  the  creator  of 
good.  This  poem  is  one  of  Prudentius'  best  works.  The 
argument  is  strong,  and  the  description  of  the  degeneration 
following  the  introduction  of  sin  into  the  world  reminds  one 
of  Lucretius.^  His  descriptions  of  hell  and  paradise  are  among 
the  best  in  early  Christian  literature. 

The  Hamartigenia  contains  some  of  the  best  instances  of 
Prudentius'  use  of  satire.     The  first  five  lines  show  one  of 

them : 

Quo  te  praecipitat  rabies  tua,  perfide  Cain, 

Divisor  blaspheme  Dei?     Tibi  conditor  unus 

Non  liquet  et  bifidae  caligant  nubila  lucis, 

Insincera  acies  duo  per  divortia  semper 
5  Spargitur,  in  geminis  visum  frustrata  figuris. 

Similarly  vv.  85-88: 

85  Nemo  duos  soles,  nisi  sub  glaucomate,  vidit; 

Aut,  si  fusca  polum  suffudit  palla  serenum, 
Oppositus  quotiens  radiorum  spicula  nimbus 
Igne  repercusso  mentitos  spargit  in  orbes. 

One  cannot  help  remembering  that  Horace  and  Juvenal 
were  not  ignorant  of  other  alternatives  when  the  act  of  "seeing 
double"  may  occur .^ 

Keenly  satirical  is  the  passage  where,  in  speaking  of  the 
idea  of  an  evil  Deity,  Prudentius  says,  "we  always  knew  there 
was  such  a  person,  but  we  didn't  call  him  God;  we  called  him 
the  devil:" 

*  Ebert,  Geschichte,  p.  292. 

'  Horace,  Serm.,  II,  I,  25.     Juvenal,  6,  305. 


46      LATIN    SATIRICAL   WRITING    SUBSEQUENT    TO   JUVENAL 

Haec  tua,  Marcion,  gravis  et  dialectica  vox  est, 
125  Immo  haec  attoniti  phrenesis  manifesta  cerebri. 

Novimus  esse  patrem  scelerum,  sed  novimus  ipsum 
Haudquaquam  tamen  esse  Deum,  quin  immo  gehennae 
Mancipium,  stygio  qui  sit  dampnandus  averno. 
Marcionita  Deus,  tristis,  ferus,  insidiator, 
130  Vertice  sublimis,  cinctum  cui  nubibus  atris 

Anguiferum  caput  et  fumo  stipatur  et  igni, 
Liventes  oculos  suffundit  felle  perusto 
Invidia  inpatiens  iustorum  gaudia  ferre.  etc." 
************** 

157  Par  furor  illorum,  quos  tradit  fama  dicatis 

Consecrasse  deas  Febrem  Scabiemque  sacellis.* 

Not  God,  but  a  wicked  and  rebellious  angel,  says  Prudentius, 
is  the  author  of  the  evil  in  the  world;  and  in  depicting  this  evil 
the  poet  writes  with  a  vigor  and  a  skill  scarcely  inferior  to 
that  of  the  great  satirists  of  earlier  times. ^ 

250  Exemplum  dat  vita  hominum,  quo  cetera  peccent 

Vita  hominum,  cui,  quicquid  agit,  vesania  et  error 
Suppeditant,  ut  bella  fremant,  ut  fluxa  voluptas 
Diffluat,  inpuro  fervescat  ut  igne  libido, 
Sorbeat  ut  cumulos  nummorum  faucibus  amplis 

255  Gurges  avaritiae,  finis  quam  nullus  habendi 

Temperat,  aggestis  addentem  vota  talentis. 
Auri  namque  fames  parto  fit  maior  ab  auro. 
Inde  seges  scelerum,  radix  et  sola  malorum.^ 

Prudentius  next  passes  to  that  love  of  luxury  and  adornment 
which  characterizes  the  female  sex.  Women,  he  says,  are 
ashamed  of  their  appearance  as  God  made  them,  and  pre- 
sumptuously seek  to  improve  it,  by  painting  their  skin,  and 
wearing  jeweled  and  golden  ear-rings  and  hair-ornaments. 
They  are  the  weaker  sex,  of  unstable  will,  and  easily  yield 
to    faults: 

4  Cf.  Baumgartner,  Die  lateinische  und  griechische  Literatur  der  christ- 
lichen  Volker,  p.  164. 

5  Boissier,  La  fin  du  paganisme,  2,  132. 

8  V.  257  is  in  no  way  inferior  to  Juvenal's  (14,  139) 

Crescit  amor  nummi,  quantum  ipsa  pecunia  crevit. 
Cf.  also  Juvenal,  i,  85;    14,  125;    Horace,  Sermones  II,  3,  82;   Epistles 
I,  2,  56. 


PRUDENTIUS  47 

Nee  enim  contenta  decore 
265  Ingenito  externam  mentitur  fcmina  formam. 

Ac  velut  artificis  Domini  manus  inpcrfectum 
Os  dedcrit,  quod  adhuc  res  exigat  aut  hyacinthis 
Pingere  sutilibus  redimitae  frontis  in  arce, 
Colla  vel  ignitis  sincera  incingere  sertis, 
270  Auribus  aut  gravidis  virides  suspendere  bacas, 

Nectitur  et  nitidis  concharum  calculus  albens 
Crinibus  aureolisque  riget  coma  texta  catenis. 
Taedet  sacrilegas  matrum  percurrere  curas, 
Muneribus  dotata  Dei  quae  plasmata  fuco 
275  Inficiunt,  ut  pigmentis  cutis  inlita  perdat 

Quod  fuerat,  falso  non  agnoscenda  colore. 
Haec  sexus  male  fortis  agit,  cui  pectore  in  arto 
Mens  fragilis  facili  vitiorum  fluctuat  aestu. 

Yet  this  is  not  confined  to  the  female  sex.  Men  are  no 
better.  They  are  "dissolved  in  luxury,"  mindful  only  of 
perfumes  and  clothing  of  the  softest  texture  and  most  deli- 
cate   dye: 

Quid?  quod  et  ipse  caput  muliebris  corporis  et  rex, 

280  Qui  regit  invalidam  propria  de  carne  resectam 

Particulam,  qui  vas  tenerum  ditione  gubernat, 
Solvitur  in  luxum:   cernas  mollescere  cultu 
Heroas  vetulos,  opifex  quibus  aspera  membra 
Finxerat  et  rigidos  duraverat  ossibus  artus. 

285  Sed  pudet  esse  viros,  quaerunt  vanissima  quaeque, 

Quis  niteant,  genuina  leves  ut  robora  solvant: 
Vellere  non  ovium,  sed  Eoo  ex  orbe  petitis 
Ramorum  spoliis  fluitantes  sumere  amictus 
Gaiident  et  durum  scutulis  perfundere  corpus. 

290  Additur  ars,  ut  fila  herbis  saturata  recoctis 

Inludant  varias  distincto  stamine  formas, 
Ut  quaeque  est  lanugo  fere  mollissima  tactu, 
Pectitur:   hunc  videas  lascivas  praepete  cursu 
Venantem  tunicas,  avium  quoque  versicolorum 

295  Indumenta  novis  texentem  plumea  telis: 

Ilium  pigmentis  redolentibus  et.percgrino 
Pulvere  femineas  spargentem  turpiter  auras. 

All  five  senses,  says  the  poet,  are  pampered  out  of  all  pro- 
portion, and  gratified  with  such  artificial  and  base  pleasures 
as  they  were  never  created  to  enjoy.  Indecent  theatrical 
shows,  perfumery,  light  and  trivial  music,  gluttony,  and  soft 


48      LATIN   SATIRICAL   WRITING   SUBSEQUENT   TO   JUVENAL 

clothing,  together  with  excessive  care  of  the  body,  are  made 
the  subject  of  his  indignant  satire. 

Omnia  luxus  habet  nostrae  vegetamina  vitae, 
Sensibus  in  quinque  statuens  quae  condidit  auctor: 

300  Auribus  atque  oculis,  turn  naribus  atque  palato 

Quaeritur  infectus  vitiosis  artibus  usus. 
Ipse  etiam  toto  poUet  qui  corpore  tactus, 
Palpamen  tenerum  blandis  ex  fotibus  ambit. 
Proh  dolor  ingenuas  naturae  occumbere  leges, 

305  Captivasque  trahi  regnante  libidine  dotes! 

Perversum  ius  omne  viget,  dum,  quicquid  habendum 
Omnipotens  dederat,  studia  in  contraria  vertunt. 
Idcircone,  rogo,  speculatrix  pupula  molli 
Subdita  palpebrae  est,  ut  turpia  semivirorum 

310  Membra  theatrali  spectet  vertigine  ferri, 

Incestans  miseros  foedo  oblectamine  visus? 
Aut  ideo  spirant  mediaque  ex  arce  cerebri 
Demittunt  geminas  sociata  foramina  nares, 
Ut  bibat  inlecebras  male  conciliata  voluptas, 

315  Quas  pigmentato  meretrix  iacit  inproba  crine? 

Num  propter  lyricae  modulamina  vana  puellae, 
Nervorumque  sonos  et  conviviale  calentis 
Carmen  nequitiae  patulas  Deus  addidit  aures? 
Perque  cavernosos  iussit  penetrare  meatus 

320  Vocis  iter?     numquid  madido  sapor  inditus  ori 

Vivit  ob  banc  causam,  medicata  ut  fercula  pigram 
Ingluviem  vegetamque  gulam  ganeonis  inescent? 
Per  varios  gustus  instructa  ut  prandia  ducat 
In  noctem  lassetque  gravem  sua  crapula  ventrem? 

325  Quid  durum,  quid  molle  foret,  quid  lene,  quid  horrens, 

Quid  calidum  gelidumve,  Deus  cognoscere  nosmet 
Attactu  voluit  palpandi  interprete  sensu. 
At  nos  delicias  plumarum  et  linea  texta 
Sternimus  atque  cutem  fulcro  attenuante  polimus. 

330  Felix  qui  indultis  potuit  mediocriter  uti 

Muneribus  parcumque  modum  servare  fruendi, 
Quern  locuples  mundi  species  et  amoena  venustas 
Et  nitidis  fallens  circumflua  copia  rebus 
Non  capit  ut  puerum,  nee  inepto  addicit  amori: 

335  Qui  sub  adumbrata  dulcedine  triste  venenum 

Deprendit  latitare  boni  mendacis  operto. 

Such  a  long  digression  as  this,  almost  one  hundred   lines, 
dealing  with  the  faults  and  vices  of  contemporary  men  and 


PRUDENTIUS  49 

women,  cannot  be  regarded  as  unimportant.  Coming  from 
his  native  province  to  the  capital  city,  Prudentius'  point 
of  view  was  that  of  a  fresh  observer,  and  his  position  at  court 
gave  him  access  to  the  circles  where  luxury  was  at  its  height. 
If  his  words  remind  us  irresistibly  of  those  of  Juvenal,  if  the 
vices  which  he  attacks  are  the  same  as  those  which  aroused 
the  elder  satirists,^  it  can  only  mean  that  Roman  society 
had  not  changed  much  in  three  centuries,  and  that  even  the 
spread  and  victory  of  Christianity  had  not  availed  to  check 
the  prevalence  of  extreme  luxury  and  extravagance  among 
the  wealthy  classes.  Similar  in  spirit  are  the  strictures  of 
Tertullian  on  female  dress  and  adornment,  and,  as  we  shall 
see,  they  are  closely  paralleled  in  St.  Jerome  and  other  writers. 

The  remainder  of  the  Hamartigenia  is  devoted  to  more 
directly  theological  and  dogmatic  argument  and  description. 

In  the  year  384  the  distinguished  pagan  orator  and  prefect 
of  the  city  Symmachus  had  addressed  an  eloquent  plea  to 
the  rulers  of  the  Empire  for  the  re-establishment  of  the  altar 
of  Victory  in  the  Senate-house,  from  which  it  had  been  re- 
moved by  an  edict  of  Gratian  two  years  previously.  This 
made  a  strong  impression,  but  the  opposition  of  Bishop  Am- 
brose of  Milan  was  sufficient  to  render  it  fruitless.  Still, 
the  Relatio  of  Symmachus  remained  as  a  sort  of  standard 
plea  for  his  party,  and  when,  in  the  early  years  of  the  fifth 
century,  the  question  of  the  altar  was  re-opened,  Prudentius 
wrote  his  two  books  Contra  Symmachum  in  reply.  It  is, 
perhaps,  open  to  question  whether  this  poem  is  to  be  taken 
as  an  actual  combating  of  an  imminent  pagan  reaction^ 
or  as  merely  an  academic  tour  deforce:^  at  all  events,  it  must 
be   classed    among    the    best   of   apologetic    writings.      The 

^  See  Horace,  Sermones,  I,  2,  27;  II,  2,  passim;  Carmina,  III,  16; 
Juvenal  i,  139  ff.;  3,  180;  6,  63,  300;  11,  162.  Cf.  also  Schuster,  Studien 
zu  Prudentius,  p.  90  ff.,  for  parallelisms  in  thought  and  phraseology  be- 
tween Prudentius  and  Juvenal. 

*  Ebert,  Geschichte,  p.  276.  Manitius,  Geschichte,  p.  77.  Baumgartner, 
Die  lateinische  und  griechische  Lileratur  der  christlichen    Volker,   p.    169. 

^  Schanz,  Geschichte,  IV,  i,  226. 


50      LATIN    SATIRICAL   WRITING   SUBSEQUENT   TO   JUVENAL 

first  book  is  a  rather  general  attack  on  paganism,  while  in 
the  second,  in  which  the  author  quite  closely  follows  the 
previous  work  of  Ambrosius,-''  the  arguments  of  Symmachus 
are  taken  up  and  answered  seriatim. ^^  In  the  first  book,  and 
to  a  less  extent  in  the  second,  one  finds  satirical  writing  that 
again  recalls  the  best  work  of  Juvenal. ^^ 

Book  I  begins  with  an  expression  of  surprise  that  there 
should  ever  again  be  any  renewal  of  anti-Christian  activity, 
followed  by  praise  of  Theodosius  for  his  services  to  the  true 
religion.  Then  various  gods  are  satirized  in  short  passages 
which  in  thought  are  not  unlike  the  acrostic  poems  of  Com- 
modianus. 

Saturn  bursts  on  the  scene  with  the  comically  ironical 
words  "I  am  a  god;  I  come  a  fugitive;  hide  me,  hide  the  old 
man  hurled  from  his  throne  by  a  ruthless  son.  Here  I  will 
conceal  myself,  and  give  the  name  'Latium'  to  folk  and  land." 

45  Sum  deus,  advenio  fugiens,  praebete  latebras, 

Occultate  senem  nati  feritate  tyranni 
Deiectum  solio.     Placet  hie  fugitivus  et  exul 
Ut  lateam:   genti  atque  loco  Latium  dabo  nomen. 

Inde  deos,  quorum  patria  spectata  sepulcra 
55  Scimus,  in  acre  hebetes  informavere  minores, 

Advena  quos  profugus  gignens  et  equina  libido 
Intulit  Italiae;   Tuscis  namque  ille  puellis 
Primus  adhinnivit  simulato  numine  moechus. 

Next  Jupiter  the  adulterous: 

luppiter  astus 

75  Multiplices  variosque  dolos  texebat,  ut  ilium, 

Vertere  cum  vellet  pellem  faciemque,  putarent 
Esse  bovem,  praedari  aquilam,  concumbere  cycnum 
Et  nummos  fieri  et  gremium  penetrare  puellae. 
Nam  quid  rusticitas  non  crederet  indomitorum 

8o  Stulta  virum,  pecudes  inter  ritusque  ferinos 

Dedere  sueta  animum  diae  rationis  egenum? 
In  quamcumque  fidem  nebulonis  callida  traxit 
Nequitia,  infelix  facilem  gens  praebuit  aurem. 

"  Ebert,  Geschichte,  277-8. 

"  nunc  dictis  dicta  refellam,  2,  4. 

'2  Baumgartner,  Die  lal.  utid  griech.  Literakir,  170,  172,  177. 


PRUDENTIUS  51 

So  Mercury,  teacher  of  theft  and  magic  arts,  Priapus  the 
obscene,  Hercules  the  boy-lover,  the  drunken  Bacchus,  are 
depicted  in  vigorous  verses  as  examples  of  what  is  offered  in 
place  of  Christianity.  Even  sovereigns  were  deified,  which 
was  bad  for  the  national  character.  Mars  and  Venus,  re- 
puted ancestors  of  the  Roman  nation,  were  in  the  very  cir- 
cumstances of  that  ancestry  models  of  vice.  Multitudes  of 
new  deities  were  brought  to  Rome  from  other  countries. 
Such  superstitions  once  started  advanced  rapidly;  children 
grew  up  in  their  atmosphere,  even  imbibed  them  with  their 
milk.  The  description  of  the  influence  of  parents  and  sur- 
roundings on  the  youthful  character  may  be  compared  with 
that  in  Juvenal's  14th  satire,  though  the  reference  is  entirely 
different,  being  here  to  error,  there  to  vice.  With  scorn 
Prudentius  recalls  the  deification  of  Li  via,  and  of  Antinous, 
the  favorite  of  Hadrian.  Was  it  under  the  auspices  of  such 
divinities  that  Roman  armies  fought  and  conquered?  Happy 
would  the  Romans  have  been  if  they  had  recognized  the  true 
Giver  of  their  prosperity  and  power! 

Felices,  si  cuncta  Deo  sua  prospera  Christo 
Principe  disposita  scissent,  qui  currere  regna 
Certis  ducta  modis  Romanorumque  triumphos 

290  Crescere  et  inpletis  voluit  se  infundere  seclis. 

Sed  caligantes  animas  et  luce  carentes 
In  lovis  Augustique  adytis  templisque  duarum 
lunonum  Martisque  etiam  Venerisque  sacellis 
Mactatas  tetro  leti  inmersere  barathro, 

295  Supremuni  regimen  crassis  in  partibus  orbis 

Esse  rati  mcrsoque  poll  consistere  fundo. 

Even  natural  forces  were  deified,  although  all  are  but  serv- 
ants of  the  Creator.  Even  this,  however,  might  be  tolerated, 
but  what  when  we  come  to  the  gods  of  the  infernal  regions: 

Hoc  tamen  utcunque  est  tolerabile.     Quid,  quod  et  ipsae 
355  Dant  tibi,  Roma,  deos  infcrni  gurgitis  umbrae? 

Eumenidum  domina  Stygio  caput  exerit  antro 
Rapta  ad  tartarei  thalamum  Proserpina  regis: 
Et  si  quando  suos  dignatur  adire  Quirites, 
Placatur  vaccae  sterilis  cervice  resecta 


52      LATIN    SATIRICAL   WRITING   SUBSEQUENT   TO   JUVENAL 

360  Et  regnare  simul  caeloque  ereboque  putatur: 

Nunc  bigas  frenare  boves,  nunc  saeva  sororum 
Agmina  vipereo  superis  inmittere  flagro, 
Nunc  etiam  volucres  caprearum  in  terga  sagittas 
Spargere  terque  suas  eadem  variare  figuras. 

Gladiatorial  shows  draw  forth  some  of  Prudentius'  severest 
strictures: 

Respice  terrific!  scelerata  sacraria  Ditis, 
380  Cui  cadit  infausta  fusus  gladiator  arena: 

Heu  male  lustratae  Phlegethontia  victima  Romae! 

Nam  quid  vesani  sibi  vult  ars  inpia  ludi, 

Quid  mortes  iuvenum,  quid  sanguine  pasta  voluptas, 

Quid  pulvis  caveae  semper  funebris  et  ilia 
385  Amphitheatralis  spectacula  tristia  pompae? 

Nempe  Charon  iugulis  miserorum  se  duce  dignas 

Accipit    inferias  placatus  crimine  sacro. 

Hae  sunt  deliciae  lovis  infernalis,  in  istis 

Arbiter  obscuri  placidus  requiescit  Averni. 
390  Nonne  pudet  regem  populum  sceptrisque  potentem 

Talia  pro  patriae  censere  litanda  salute, 

Relligionis  opem  subternis  poscere  ab  antris? 

Theodosius  is  introduced  speaking,  urging  the  city  to  dis- 
card such  gloomy  teachings  and  follow  the  Cross,  which  had 
already,  through  Constantine,  set  them  free  from  the  oppres- 
sion of  Maxentius.  The  crimes  of  this  tyrant  are  recalled  in  a 
short  but  vigorous  satirical  passage  (469  ff.).  Prudentius 
then  emphasizes  the  fact  that  a  vast  majority  of  Rome's  best 
people  are  now  Christians,  and  closes  this  book  with  praise 
of  Symmachus  as  an  orator,  saying  that  his  own  intention  is 
not  to  attack  him,  but  to  defend  his  own  beliefs. 

The  second  book  is  longer  than  the  first,  and  as  there  are 
some  repetitions  of  thought  in  it,  and  some  purely  dogmatic 
argument,  it  seems  unnecessary  to  present  a  connected  outline 
of  the  content.  But  it  contains  some  excellent  examples  of 
satire.  To  the  argument  of  Symmachus  that  Rome's  vic- 
tories were  due  to  the  worship  of  the  gods,  notably  the  goddess 
of  Victory,  Prudentius  replies,  "Not  from  altars  and  sacri- 
ficial meal  does  victory  come,  but  from  toil  and  valor  and 


PRUDENTIUS  53 

courage  and  diligence:  if  these  are  lacking,  all  the  talents  you 
may  spend  on  shrines  and  statues  will  be  in  vain.  Never  did 
a  steel-clad  legion  see  a  winged  maiden  directing  their  javelins. 
The  author  of  victory  is  Almighty  God  and  one's  own  right 
hand, — not  a  female  with  combed  locks,  naked  feet,  and 
flowing   garments." 

Non  aris,  non  farre  molae  Victoria  fclix 
Exorata  venit:   labor  inpiger,  aspera  virtus, 

25  Vis  animi,  excellens  ardor,  violentia,  cura, 

Hanc  tribuunt,  durum  tractandis  robur  in  armis; 
Quae  si  defuerint  bellantibus,  aurea  quamvis 
Marmoreo  in  templo  rutilas  Victoria  pennas 
Explicet  et  multis  surgat  formata  talentis, 

30  Non  aderit  versisque  offensa  videbitur  hastis 

Quid  miles,  propriis  diffisus  viribus,  aptas 
Inrita  femineae  tibimet  solatia  formae? 
Nunquam  pennigeram  legio  ferrata  puellam 
Vidit,  anhelantum  regeret  quae  tela  virorum. 

35  Vincendi  quaeris  dominam?  sua  dextera  cuiquc  est, 

Et  Deus  omnipotens:  non  pexo  crine  virago. 
Nee  nudo  suspensa  pede  strophioque  recincta, 
Nee  tumidae  fluitante  sinu  vestita  papillas. 
********** 

Desine,  si  pudor  est,  gentilis  ineptia,  tandem 
Res  incorporeas  simulatis  fingere  membris: 
Desine,  terga  hominis  plumis  obducere,  frustra 
60  Fertur  avis  mulier  magnusque  eadem  dea  vultur. 

The  same  thought  is  emphasized  again  later  in  the  poem, 
where  Prudentius  indignantly  demands  that  Roman  valor  be 
given  its  just  dues  for  victories  won:  "I  will  not  endure  such 
insults  to  the  Roman  name,  and  the  honors  we  poured  out  so 
much  blood  to  gain.  To  ascribe  a  victory  to  Venus,  steals 
the  credit  from  the  real  victors.  Why  do  we  put  up  statues 
to  Camillus  and  other  heroes  if  it  was  really  Flora,  Matuta, 
Ceres,  and  Larentina  who  defeated  the  foe?" 

Non  fero,  Romanum  nomen  sudataque  bella 
Et  titulos  tanto  quaesitos  sanguine  carpi. 
Detrahit  invictis  legionibus  et  sua  Romae 
Praemia  diminuit,  qui,  quidquid  fortiter  actum  est, 


54      LATIN    SATIRICAL    WRITING    SUBSEQUENT    TO    JUVENAL 

555  Ascribit  Veneri,  palmam  victoribus  aufert. 

Frustra  igitur  currus  summo  miramur  in  arcu 
Quadriiugos  stantesque  duces  in  curribus  altis 
Fabricios,  Curios,  hinc  Drusos,  inde  Camillos, 
Sub  pedibusque  ducum  captivos  poplite  flexo 

560  Ad  iuga  depresses  manibusque  in  terga  retortis, 

Et  suspensa  gravi  telorum  fragmina  trunco: 
Si  Brennum,  Antiochum,  Persen,  Pyrrhum,  Mithridatem, 
Flora,  Matuta,  Ceres,  et  Larentina  subegit. 

The  satirical  absurdity  is  heightened  by  the  use  of  these 
goddesses  in  this  connection,  instead  of,  for  example,  Jupiter, 
Minerva,  Mars,  and  Apollo. 

Prudentius  easily  shows  the  ridiculousness  of  Symmachus' 

plea  for  the  retention  of  the  ancient  rites.     If  age  is  to  be 

the  criterion  of  the  value  of  a  custom  or  religion,  we  should 

quickly  lapse  into  barbarism.     We  should  cease  to  cultivate 

the  soil,  we  should  have  to  clothe  ourselves  in  skins  and  live 

in  caves  and  murder  our  aged  parents,  foi  such  things  formerly 

were    done. 

Si  quidquid  rudibus  mundi  nascentis  in  annis 
Mos  habuit,  sancte  colere  ac  servare  necesse  est: 
Omne  revolvamus  sua  per  vestigia  seclum 

280  Usque  ad  principium,  placeat  dampnare  gradatim, 

Quidquid  posterius  successor  repperit  usus. 
Orbe  novo  nuUi  subigebant  arva  coloni: 
Quid  sibi  aratra  volunt,  quid  cura  superflua  rastri? 
Ilignis  melius  saturatur  glandibus  alvus. 

285  Primi  homines  cuneis  scindebant  fissile  lignum: 

Decoquat  in  massam  fervens  strictura  securem 
Rursus  et  ad  proprium  restillet  vena  metallum. 
Induvias  caesae  pecudes  et  frigida  parvas 
Praebebat  spelunca  domos:   redeamus  ad  antra, 

290  Pellibus  insutis  hirtos  sumamus  amictus. 

Inmanes  quondam  populi  feritate  subacta 
Edomiti,  iam  triste  fremant  iterumque  ferinos 
In  mores  redeant  atque  ad  sua  prisca  recurrant. 
Praecipitat  Scythica  iuvenis  pietate  vietum 

295  Votivo  de  ponte  patrem;   sic  mos  fuit  olim.^' 

Symmachus  says  (369  ff.),  "Let  the  city  be  left  to  the  care 
of  its  Genius,  and  to  fulfil  its  fated  destiny."     Prudentius  re- 
"  Cf.  Horace,  Epistles,  II,  i,  34  ff- 


PRUDENTIUS  55 

plies,  "What  is  this  Genius,  where  did  it  come  from,  and 
when,  what  does  it  look  like,  what  does  it  do?  What  sen- 
sible man  could  fail  to  laugh  at  such  a  belief?" 

At  tuus  hie  urbis  Genius,  dicas  volo,  quando 
Coepit  adhuc  parvae  primum  se  infundere  Romae, 

395  Fluxit  ab  uberibus  nemorosa  in  valle  lupinis, 

Infantesque  aluit,  dum  nascitur  ipse,  gemellos? 
An  cum  vulturibus  volitans  ignota  per  auras 
Umbra  repentinam  traxit  de  nube  figuram? 
Culminibus  summis  sedet,  an  penetralia  servans 

400  Instituit  mores  et  iura  forensia  condit? 

An  castrorum  etiam  fossis  intervenit,  acres 
Cogit  ad  arma  viros,  lituis  ciet,  urget  in  hostem? 
Quae  quis  non  videat  sapientum  digna  cachinno? 

Finally,  after  denying  that  the  confiscation  of  the  revenues 
of  Vesta  will  bring  untold  woes  on  the  state,  Prudentius 
satirizes  the  Vestal  virgins,  as  being  chaste  only  through  force 
of  circumstance  and  vows  made  in  ignorance,  and  as  taking  a 
cruel  and  unnatural  delight  in  the  shameful  gladiatorial  con- 
tests, for  the  abolition  of  which  he  makes  a  strong  plea. 

Interea  dum  torta  vagos  ligat  infula  crines 
Fatalesque  adolet  prunas  innupta  sacerdos, 
Fertur  per  medias  ut  publica  pompa  plateas 
Pilento  residens  molli,  seque  ore  retecto 

1090  Inputat  attonitae  virgo  spectabilis  urbi. 

Inde  ad  consessum  caveae  pudor  almus  et  expers 
Sanguinis  it  pietas,  hominum  visura  cruentos 
Congressus  mortesque  et  vulnera  vendita  pastu 
Spectatura  sacris  oculis:  sedct  ilia  verendis 

1095  Vittarum  insignis  phaleris  fruiturque  lanistis. 

O  tenerum  mitemque  animum!  consurgit  ad  ictus 
Et  quotiens  victor  ferrum  iugulo  inserit,  ilia 
Delicias  ait  esse  suas  pectusque  iacentis 
Virgo  modesta  iubet  converso  pollice  rumpi, 

1 100  Ne  lateat  pars  uUa  animae  vitalibus  imis, 

Altius  inpresso  dum  palpitat  ense  sccutor. 

The  foregoing  discussion,  though  necessarily  dealing  with 

Prudentius  from  a  limited  point  of  view,  should  yet  make  it 

evident  that  here  is  a  Latin  poet  who  deserves  to  be  better 

known  than  he  is.     His  hymns  show  an  advance  on  his  prede- 

5 


56      LATIN    SATIRICAL   WRITING   SUBSEQUENT   TO   JUVENAL 

cessors/^  he  was  a  pioneer  in  allegorical  poetry,  in  his  didactic 
works  he  was  a  poet  as  well  as  a  theologian,  and  he  must  also 
be  recognized  as  a  satirical  poet  of  a  high  order.  In  grave 
irony,  in  amusing  ridicule,  and  in  sharp  and  bitter  sarcasm, 
he  shows  the  skill  of  a  master.  He  may  be  characterized  not 
unjustly  as  the  principal  satirist  of  Christian  Latin  poetry, 
and  rivalled  only  by  Claudian  of  the  other  poets  subsequent 
to   Juvenal. 

^*  Schanz,  Geschichte,  IV,  i,  230. 


CARMEN  CONTRA  PAGANOS 

We  have  here  a  spirited  satirical  poem  of  one  hundred  and 
twenty-two  hexameter  verses,  preserved  in  a  manuscript  of 
Prudentius  (Paris  8084).  Its  author  is  unknown,  and  the 
date  of  composition  is  only  to  be  deduced  from  internal  evi- 
dence, which  points  quite  clearly  to  the  year  394  A.  d.,  in  the 
reign  of  Eugenius.^ 

Although  prosody  and  diction  are  faulty,^  the  poem  pos- 
sesses much  of  interest.  Its  satire  is  directed  against  the 
minority  who  even  at  that  period  remained  true  to  the  pagan 
religion.  Special  attention  is  paid  to  an  unnamed  pagan  of 
high  rank  and  influence  who  had  recently  died — generally 
believed  to  be  Virius  Nicomachus  Flavianus,  a  former  consul 
and  prefect  of  the  city.^ 

The  central  thought  of  the  poem  seems  to  be  a  feeling  of 
exultation  at  the  decay  of  paganism  and  the  death  of  its  chief 
adherent,  coupled  with  a  satirical  query  as  to  what  avail  the 
ancient  religion  had  been  either  for  itself  or  for  him.  The 
heathen  gods  and  their  crimes  and  weaknesses  are  satirized 
in  much  the  same  manner  as  by  Tertullian,  Commodianus, 
Arnobius,  and  others."*  The  style  is  exultant  and  scornful, 
rhetorical  questions  are  frequent,  and  "the  relative  clause 
is  hounded  to  death. "'^  Repetitions  of  phrases  are  common, 
e.  g.  23,  122;  77,  107;  83,  120.    . 

The  poem  begins^  with  an  ironical  address  to  the  pagans, 

^  Schanz,  Geschichte,  IV,  i,  200.   " 

2  Mommsen,  Carmen  codicis  Parisini  8084,  Hermes,  4  (1869),  350  EF. 

'  Morel,  Recherches,  Revue  Archeologique,  1868,  2,  48-50.  Momm- 
sen, Hermes,  4,  360.  But  Robinson  Ellis  identifies  him  rather  with 
Praetextatus  (Journal  of  Philology,  i,  2,  80). 

*  Manitius,  Geschichte,  147  n. 

^  Schanz. 

8  Following  the  text  of  Baehrens,  Poetae  Latini  Minores,  3,  287  ff. 

57 


58      LATIN   SATIRICAL  WRITING   SUBSEQUENT  TO   JUVENAL 

in  which  some  of  their  gods  are  characterized  by  their  well- 
known  faults:  "Say,  ye  who  worship  the  Sibyl's  groves  and 
cave,  the  woods  of  Ida,  the  Capitol,  the  Palladium,  the  shrine 
of  Vesta,  the  incestuous  gods — Veneris  monumenta  nefandae — 
ye  whom  only  your  purple  robes  make  holy,  who  never  learned 
the  truth  from  either  Apollo's  shrine  or  quack  Etruscan 
soothsayer, — was  your  Jupiter  so  madly  in  love  with  Leda 
as  to  become  a  swan?  Did  he  descend  to  Danae  in  a  shower 
of  gold?  Did  he  bellow  as  a  bull  through  the  straits  of  Par- 
thenope?  ...  If  Jove  himself  is  subject  to  fate,  what  avails 
it  to  utter  useless  prayers?  Adonis  is  mourned,  Venus  weeps, 
Mars  rejoices,  Jupiter  knows  not  how  to  end  their  strife,  and 
Bellona  urges  on  the  wrangling  deities  with  her  scourge." 

Dicite,  qui  colitis  lucos  antrumque  Sibyllae 
Idaeumque  nemus,  Capitolia  celsa  Tonantis, 
Palladium  Priamique  Lares  Vestaeque  sacellum 
Incestosque  deos,  nuptam  cum  fratre  sororem, 

5  Inmitem  puerum,  Veneris  monumenta  nefandae, 

Purpurea  quos  sola  facit  praetexta  sacratos, 
Quis  numquam  verum  Phoebi  cortina  locuta  est, 
Etruscus  ludit  semper  quos  vanus  aruspex: 
luppiter  hie  vester,  Ledae  superatus  amore, 

10  Fingeret  ut  cycinum,  voluit  canescere  pluma? 

Perditus  ad  Danaen  fluere  subito  aureus  imber, 
Per  freta  Parthenopes  taurus  mugireque  adulter? 
Haec  si  monstra  placent  nulla  sacrata  pudica 


Pellitur  arma  lovis  fugiens  regnator  Olympi? 
35  Et  quisquam  supplex  veneratur  templa  tyranni, 

Cum  patrem  videat  nato  cogente  fugatum? 

Postremum,  regitur  fato  si  luppiter  ipse, 

Quid  prodest  miseris  perituras  fundere  voces? 

Plangitur  in  templis  iuvenis  formonsus  Adonis, 
20  Nuda  Venus  deflet,  gaudet  Mavortius  heros, 

luppiter  in  medium  nescit  finire  querellas 

lurgantesque  deos  stimulat  Bellona  flagello. 

The  personal  object  of  the  satire  is  referred  to  as  one  who 
travelled  over  the  whole  world  in  three  months  and  came  at 
last  to  the  end — of  his  life.     No  one  was  a  more  thorough- 


CARMEN  CONTRA  PAGANOS  59 

going  devotee  of  paganism  than  he:  an  adept  in  the  arts  of 
Numa,  worshipper  of  Serapis,  indefatigable  opponent  of  the 
true  religion, — is  not  this  the  very  man  who  destroyed  a 
year's  wine  supply  of  his  country  and  sought  to  bring  ruin 
on  the  city?^  He  underwent  the  degrading  mystic  rites.  He 
refused,  though  censor,  to  do  a  censor's  part.  He  sought  to 
corrupt  Christians  by  gifts  and  offices. 

Quis  tibi  taurobolus  vestem  mutare  suasit, 
Inflatus  dives,  subito  mendicus  ut  esses? 
Obsitus  et  pannis,  modica  stipe  factus  epaeta, 
60  Sub  terram  missus,  pollutus  sanguine  tauri, 

Sordidus,  infectus,  vestes  servare  cruentas? 
Vivere  num  speras  viginti  mundus  in  annos? 


Christicolas  multos  voluit  sic  perdere  demens,  , 

Quis,  vellent  sine  lege  mori,  donaret  honores 
80  Oblitosque  sui  caperet  quos  daemonis  arte, 

Muneribus  cupiens  quorundam  frangere  mentes 
Aut  alios  facere  prava  mercede  profanes 
Mittereque  inferias  miseros  sub  Tartara  secum. 

The  satirist  addresses  the  unnamed  individual.  "What 
good  did  all  your  gods  and  worshippings  do  you?" 

Quid  tibi  diva  Paphi  custos,  quid  pronuba  luno 

Saturnusque  senex  potuit  praestare  sacrato? 

Quid  tibi  Neptuni  promisit  fuscina,  demens? 
90  Reddere  quas  potuit  sortes  Tritonia  virgo? 

Die  mihi,  Sarapidis  templum  cur  nocte  petebas? 

Quid  tibi  Mercurius  fallax  promisit  eunti? 

Quid  prodest  coluisse  Lares  lanumque  bifrontem? 

Quid  tibi  Terra  potens,  mater  formosa  deorum, 
95  Quid  tibi  sacrato  placuit  latrator  Anubis? 

Quid  miseranda  Ceres  mater,  Proserpina  subter? 

Quid  tibi  Vulcanus  claudus,  pede  debilis  uno? 

Quis  te  plangentem  non  risit,  calvus  ad  aras 

Sistriferam  Fariam  supplex  cum  forte  rogares?  etc. 

"Lo,  in  spite  of  magic  charms  and  votive  offerings,  death 
was  your  portion.  Weep  not,  wife,  for  a  husband  who  could 
hope  for  aid  from  Jupiter  Latiaris!" 

'  The  events  alluded  to  here  are  unknown. 


6o      LATIN   SATIRICAL   WRITING   SUBSEQUENT  TO  JUVENAL 

1 10  Artibu'  sed  magicis  procerum  dum  quaeris  honores, 

Sic,  miserande,  iaces  parvo  donatu'  sepulcro. 
Sola  tamen  gaudet  meretrix  te  consule  Flora 
Ludorum  turpis  genetrix  Venerisque  magistra, 
Conposuit  templum  nuper  cui  Symmachus  heres. 

115  Omnia  quae  in  templis  positus  tot  monstra  colebas, 

Ipsa  mola  et  manibus  coniunx  altaria  supplex 
Dum  cumulat  donis  votaque  in  limine  templi 
Solvere  dis  deabusque  parat  superisque  minatur 
Carminibus  magicis  cupiens  Acheronta  movere, 

120  Praecipitem  inferias  miserum  sub  Tartara  misit. 

Desine  post  hydropem  talem  deflere  maritum, 
De  love  qui  Latio  voluit  sperare  salutem! 

The  author  of  this  fanatical  and  bitter  satire  may  congratu- 
late himself  that  his  name  has  not  descended  to  us  along  with 
his  verses.  Very  probably  the  reason  why  it  has  not  is  that 
the  poem  was  published  anonymously  in  the  first  place. 
Were  the  poet's  name  known,  it  would  merely  signify  to  us 
an  author  of  third-rate  verses,  who  waits,  before  venting  his 
spite  and  scorn,  till  the  object  of  it  is  dead,  and  even  then 
avoids  mentioning  him  by  name, — surely  not  an  enviable 
reputation. 


CARMEN    AD    SENATOREM 

Another  anonymous  poem,  preserved  in  manuscripts  of 
Cyprian^  and  wrongly  ascribed  to  him,  is  this  of  eighty-five 
hexameter  verses,  directed  against  an  unnamed  senator  who 
had  apostatized  from  Christianity  to  the  worship  of  the  Magna 
Mater  and  of  Isis.  This  is  probably  to  be  dated  at  about  the 
same  time  as  the  Carmen  contra  Paganos.^  As  poetry,  these 
are  superior  to  the  other  verses,  and  their  tone  is  distinctly 
calmer  and  less  bitter.  Yet  this  is  also  to  be  called  a  satire, 
written  in  the  epistolary  form.  The  senator's  instability  is 
dwelt  on,  and  the  cults  to  which  he  had  returned  are  depicted 
in  a  satirical  manner. 

The  author  remarks  with  delicate  irony  that  as  the  senator 
had  always  been  fond  of  poetry,  this  rebuke  takes  the  form  of  a 

poem: 

Cum  te  diversis  iterum  vanisque  viderem 
Inservire  sacris  priscoque  errore  teneri, 
Obstipui  motus.     Quia  carmina  semper  amasti 
Carmine  respondens  properavi  scribere  versus, 

5  Ut  te  corriperem  tenebras  praeponere  luci. 

Then  follows  a  picture  of  the  priests  of  the  Magna  Mater, 
who  by  their  outward  ceremonies  betray  their  inner  degrada- 
tion: 

Namque  sacerdotes  tunicis  muliebribus  idem 
10  Interius  vitium  cultu  exteriore  fatentur, 

Idque  licere  putant,  quod  non  licet;  unde  per  urbem 
Leniter  incedunt  molliter  voce  loquentes, 
Laxatosque  tenent  extenso  poUice  lumbos, 
Et  proprium  mutant  vulgato  crimine  sexum. 

1  And  now  printed  in  the  Corpus  Scriptorum  Ecclesiasticorum  Latinorum, 
Vol.  23,  p.  227  ff. 

2  Victor  Schultze,  Geschichte  des  Untergangs  des  griecMsch-romischen 
Heidentums,  i,  290.  Manitius,  Geschichte,  130.  Ebert,  Geschichte,  313  ff. 
Schanz,  Geschichte,  IV,  i,  201. 

61 


62      LATIN   SATIRICAL  WRITING   SUBSEQUENT  TO  JUVENAL 

15  Cumque  suos  celebrant  ritus,  his  esse  diebus 

Se  castos  memorant;  ut,  si  tantum  modo  tunc  sunt, 
Ut  perhibent  casti,  reliquo  iam  tempore  quid  sunt? 
Sed  quia  coguntur  saltim  semel  esse  pudici, 
Mente  fremunt,  lacerant  corpus  funduntque  cruorem. 

Should  a  servant  of  Isis  become  consul,  all  the  world  would 
laugh ;  is  it  any  less  absurd  for  an  ex-consul  to  become  a  servant 
of  Isis,  to  exchange  the  fasces  for  a  dog's  head  and  a  sistrum? 

25  Si  quis  ab  Isiaco  consul  procedat  in  orbem, 

Risus  orbis  erit;  quis  te  non  rideat  autem, 
Qui  fueris  consul,  nunc  Isidis  esse  ministrum? 
Quodque  pudet  primo,  et  non  pudet  esse  secundo, 
Ingeniumque  tuum  turpes  damnare  per  hymnos, 

30  Respondenti  tibi  vulgo  et  lacerante  senatu; 

Teque  domo  propria  pictum  cum  fascibus  ante. 
Nunc  quoque  cum  sistro  faciem  portare  caninam. 
Haec  tua  humilitas  et  humilitatis  imago  est! 
Aedibus  ilia  tuis  semper  monumenta  manebunt. 

There  is  a  rumor  that  you  said,  "Goddess,  I  have  erred; 
forgive  me,  I  have  returned."  What  answer,  pray,  did  you 
receive?  Better  had  you  never  been  a  Christian  than  to 
have  known  the  truth  and  discarded  it.  While  worshipping 
all,  you  worship  nothing;  pretend  to  philosophy,  and  would 
doubtless  be  even  a  Jew  on  occasion. 

Minus  esses  forte  notandus, 
Si  tantum  hoc  scires  et  in  hoc  errore  maneres; 
At  cum  vericolae  penetraveris  ostia  legis, 
Et  tibi  nosse  deum  paucis  provenerit  annis, 

45  Cur  linquenda  tenes  aut  cur  retinenda  relinquis? 

Nilque  colis,  dum  cuncta  colis,  nee  corde  retractas, 
Vera  quid  a  falsis,  quid  ab  umbris  lumina  distent. 
Philosophum  fingis,  cum  te  sententia  mutet: 
Nam  tibi  si  stomachum  popularis  movent  ira, 

50  Et  ludaeus  eris  totusque  incertus  ageris! 

The  writer  continues  with  a  warning  that,  just  as  excessive 
brightness,  as  well  as  darkness,  may  make  one  unable  to  see, 
just  as  overeating  may  prove  fatal,  as  well  as  starvation,  so 
too  much  knowledge  makes  one  a  fool — "sic  nimium  sapere 
stuUum  Jacit"  (63).     Better  the  simple  faith  which  is  stable 


CARMEN   AD   SENATOREM  63 

and  unmoved.     This  seems  to  be  a  reference  to  contemporary 
attempts  to  substitute  philosophy  for  religion.' 

The  poem  concludes  with  the  hope  that  riper  years,  "matura 
senectus,"  may  yet  bring  the  senator  back,  this  time  per- 
manently, to  the  Christian  faith,  and  holds  out  encourage- 
ment as  to  his  reception: 

Desiste  vereri: 
85  Non  erit  in  culpa,  quem  paenitet  ante  fuisse. 

^  Schanz,  Geschichte,  IV,  i,  202. 


PAULINUS    OF    NOLA 

A  CLOSE  contemporary  of  Prudentius,  though,  as  a  writer, 
inferior  to  him  in  imagination  and  poetical  ability,  was  Pon- 
tius Meropius  Paulinus,  known  usually  as  Paulinus  of  Nola, 
from  his  long  residence  at  Nola  in  Campania.  Paulinus  was 
born  at  Burdigala  (Bordeaux)  about  the  year  353,  and  was  a 
pupil  and  friend  of  the  well-known  rhetor  Ausonius.  He  em- 
braced the  Christian  religion,  was  consul,  and  lived  for  some 
time  in  Spain.  Resolving  to  devote  himself  to  a  religious 
life,  he  became  a  priest  in  393,  and  shortly  afterwards  removed 
to  Nola,  a  place  sanctified  by  the  burial  there  of  St.  Felix. 
In  409  Paulinus  was  chosen  bishop,  and  held  that  position  till 
his  death  in  431. 

Although  many  of  his  letters  and  poems  are  not  without  in- 
terest, the  chief  interest,  from  our  point  of  view,  is  to  be 
found  in  the  hexameter  poem  of  254  v\^,  numbered  XXXII, 
sometimes  known  as  the  '' poema  uUimtim."  The  author's 
purpose  in  writing  this  poem  was,  as  he  declares,  to  describe 
in  smooth  verses  different  religious  beliefs,  with  a  view  to 
showing  the  superiority  of  Christianity  to  all  others.  In 
other  words,  the  poem  belongs  to  the  great  mass  of  Christian 
apologetical  literature;  and  one  finds,  as  is  to  be  expected, 
many  points  of  similarity  between  it  and  previous  apolo- 
getical writings. 

The  first  hundred  and  fifty  lines,  roughly  speaking,  is  de- 
voted to  an  attack  on  non-Christian  sects,  and  we  will  find 
here  the  same  satirical  treatment  of  the  subject  with  which 
we  have  become  familiar  in  the  works  of  writers  previously 
discussed.^  First  Paulinus  speaks  of  the  Jews,  and  comments 
on  their  insane  perversity  in  turning  from  the  worship  of  the 

^  Ebert,  Geschichte,  308.     Schanz,  Geschichte,  IV,  i,  239. 

64 


PAULINUS   OF   NOLA  65 

true  God  to  that  of  idols.     Equally  mad  is  the  pagan  who 
makes  his  god  of  stone  or  metal : 

Par  quoque  paganus;  lapides  quos  sculpat  adorat 
20  Et  facit  ipse  sibi  quod  debeat  ipse  timere. 

Turn  simulacra  colit  quae  sic  ex  acre  figurat 

Ut,  quando  libitum  est,  mittat  confracta  monetae 

Aut  magis  in  species  convertat  saepe  pudendas.^ 

And  their  sacrifices,  how  stupid  a  practise,  and  deserving 
of    censure: 

27  Quid  petit  ignosci  veniam  qui  sanguine  poscit? 

lUud  enim  quale  est,  quam  stultum  quamve  notandum!^ 

The  philosophers  are  contemptuously  characterized, — the 
Cynics,  who  resemble  the  dogs  from  whence  they  get  their 
name,  the  disciples  of  Plato,  who  have  no  stable  doctrine,  the 
"Physici"  (see  below),  who  lead  a  rude  and  uncultured  life, 
carrying  their  ideal  of  simplicity  to  an  extreme: 

Philosophos  credam  quicquam  rationis  habere, 
Qui  ratione  carent,  quibus  est  sapientia  vana? 
Sunt  Cynici  canibus  similes,  quod  nomine  produnt; 

35  Sunt  et  sectantes  incerti  dogma  Platonis, 

Quos  quaesita  diu  animae  substantia  turbat, 
Tractantes  semper  nee  definire  valentes, 
Unde  Platonis  amant  de  anima  describere  librum, 
Qui  praeter  titulum  nil  certi  continet  intus. 

40  Sunt  etiam  Physici  naturae  nomine  dicti 

Quos  antiqua  iuvat  rudis  atquc  incondita  vita.     Etc.'' 

The  poet  here  does  not  distinguish  carefully  between  his 
philosophers.  The  "Physici"  should  be  the  Stoics,  probably, 
but  his  description  best  fits  the  Cynics.^ 

2  Cf.  Minucius  Felix,  Octavius,  Chapter  23,  for  similar  thought. 

*  Cf.  Horace,  Sermones,  I,  3,  24: 

Stultus  et  improbus  hie  amor  est,  dignusque  notari. 

*  Cf.  Prudentius,  Apotheosis,  200  f. : 

Consule  barbati  deliramenta  Platonis 

Consule  et  hircosus  Cynicus  quos  sompniat,  etc. 

*  Cf.  Bursian,  Bas  sogenannte  poe^na  ultimum  des  Paulinus  Nolajius,  in 
Sitzungsberichte  der  koniglichen  bayerischen  Akademie  der  VVissenschaften, 
Philosophisch-philologischen  Klasse,  1880,  p.  22. 


66      LATIN   SATIRICAL  WRITING   SUBSEQUENT  TO  JUVENAL 

Then  come  satirical  comments  on  gods  and  goddesses,  on 
Jove  the  incestuous — teste  Marone — held  inferior  in  honor  by 
his  worshippers  to  the  mortal  king  Janus,  on  the  degraded 
and  degrading  Attis  cult,  on  the  absurd  myth  of  Saturn  and 
his  children,  with  the  vain  attempt  at  rationalization,  on  the 
myth  of  Saturn's  exile — how  the  one  great  god  hid  away,  and 
the  other  great  god  was  unable  to  find  him,  on  the  Isis  wor- 
ship, on  Vesta. — why  should  fire  be  deified  in  a  feminine 

form,    particularly? 

Primum 

Hie  deus  est  uxorque  dei  ipsamque  sororem 
55  Esse  volunt  quam  Vergilius  notat  auctor  eorum 

Dicendo  "et  soror  et  coniunx."     Plus  de  love  fertur 
Et  natam  stuprasse  suam  fratrique  dedisse 
Utque  alias  caperet  propriam  variasse  figuram: 
Nunc  serpens,  nunc  taurus  erat,  nunc  cygnus  et  anser, 
60  Seque  immutando  qualis  fuit  indicat  ipse; 

Plus  aliena  sibi  quam  propria  forma  placebat. 
Turpius  his  aquilam  finxit  puerique  nefandos 
Venit  in  amplexus.^ 

Further: 

O  mens  caeca  virum !  de  sacris  semper  eorum 
Scaena  movet  risus,  nee  ah  hoc  errore  recedunt. 

95  Saturnum  perhibent  lovis  esse  patrem  huncque  vorasse 

Natos  ante  suos  et  mox  e  ventre  nefandos 
Evomuisse  dapes,  sed  postea  coniugis  arte 
Pro  love  suppositum  mersisse  in  viscera  saxum 
Quod  nisi  fecisset,  consumptus  luppiter  esset. 

100  Huncque  Cronon  dicunt  ficteque  Chronon,  quia  tempus 

Quae  creat  absumit,  rursusque  absumpta  promittit. 
Cur  tamen  oblique  nomen  pro  tempore  fingunt?^ 
Hunc  etiam  quod  saepe  sibi  de  prole  timebat 
Ab  love  deiectum  caelo  latuisse  per  agros 

105  Italiae,  Latiumque  ideo  tune  esse  vocatum. 

Magnus  uterque  deus!     Terris  est  abditus  alter, 
Alter  non  potuit  terrarum  scire  latebras.^ 

Again : 

Quid  quod  et  Invictum  spelaea  sub  atra  recondunt 
Quemque  tegunt  tenebris  audent  hunc  dicere  solem? 

^  Cf .  Prudentius,  Contra  Symmachum,  i ,  59  ff. 
'  On  this  Xpows  =  Kpovos,  cf.  Arnobius,  Adversus  Nationes,  3,  29. 
8  Cf .    Prudentius,    Contra   Symmachum,    i,   47  fl.     Commodianus,   In- 
strudiones,  i,  4.     Manitius,  Geschichte,  294  n. 


PAULINUS   OF   NOLA  67 

Quis  colat  occulte  lucem  sidusque  supernum 

115  Celet  in  infernis  nisi  rerum  causa  malarum? 

Quid  quod  et  Isiaca  sistrumque   caputque  canlnum 
Non  magis  abscondunt  sed  per  loca  publica  ponunt?^ 
Nescio  quid  certe  quaerunt  gaudentque  repertum 
Rursus  et  amittunt  quod  rursus  quaerere  possint. 

120  Quis  ferat  hoc  sapiens,  illos  quasi  claudere  solem, 

Hos  proferre  palam  propriorum  monstra  deorum? 
Quid  Serapis  meruit  qui  sic  laceratur  ab  ipsis 
Per  varios  turpesque  locos?     Hie  denique  semper 
Fit  fera  fitque  canis,  fit  putre  cadaver  aselli, 

125  Nunc  homo  cum  pannis,  nunc  corpore  languidus  aegro. 

Talia  dum  faciunt,  nihil  hunc  sentire  fatentur. 
Quid  loquar  et  Vestam  quam  se  negat  ipse  sacerdos 
Scire  quid  est,  imisque  tamen  penetralibus  intus 
Semper  incxtinctus  servari  fingitur  ignis? 

130  Cur  dea,  non  deus  est?     Cur  ignis  femina  fertur? 

Then  follows  the  story  connecting  Vesta  with  Vulcan  and 
the  Sun/"  and  the  poet  concludes  this  polemical  section  of  his 
poem  with  an  exclamation  on  the  perversity  of  the  human  vi'nd : 

148  Quae  mens  est  hominum  ut  pro  veris  falsa  loquantur, 

Qui  linquenda  colunt  contraque  colenda  relinquuntl^^ 

Paulinus  here  turns  to  an  exposition  of  his  own  Christian 
belief;  and  the  remainder  of  the  poem  lacks  the  satirical 
character  of  the  foregoing. 

One  recognizes  the  marked  similarity  in  style  of  treatment 
of  the  subject  between  this  poem  and  other  anti-pagan  writ- 
ings. Such  a  satirical  style  had  become  the  favorite  for  apolo- 
getical  writers,  and  Paulinus  was  only  following  what  was,  as 
it  were,  an  established  literary  tradition. 

In  Carmen  VI,  we  find  the  common  enough  satirical 
thought  expressed,  that  pleasure,  luxury,  and  avarice,  are 
the  roots  of  crime: 

240  Sic  primi  vixere  homines  mundoque  recenti 

Hos  auctor  dederat  ventura  in  saecula  mores 
Inseruit  donee  sese  malesuada  voluptas, 

'  Cf.  Carmen  ad  Senatorem,  32. 

1°  This  passage  is  mythographically  important.     Cf.  Bursian,  op.  cit.,  I4  ff . 

^^  Cf.  Carmen  ad  Senatorem,  45. 


68      LATIN    SATIRICAL  WRITING   SUBSEQUENT  TO  JUVENAL 

Ac  secum  luxus  et  amorem  invexit  habendi; 
Hinc  odia  hinc  lites  hinc  fraus  hinc  livor  et  irae 
245  Caedes  arma  cruor  conflictus  proelia  mortes 

Hinc  offensa  dei  quam  tartara  saeva  piabunt.^^ 

'^  This  deserves  comparison  with  Prudentius,  Hamartigenia  393-7: 
Namque  illic  numerosa  cohors  sub  principe  tali 
Militat  horrendisque  animas  circumsidet  armis: 
395  Ira  superstitio  maeror  discordia  luxus, 

Sanguinis  atra  sitis,  vini  sitis,  et  sitis  auri, 
Livor  adulterium  dolus  obtrectatio  furtum. 
Details: 

Paulinus  Prudentius 

irae  ira 

luxus  luxus 

livor  livor 

lites  discordia 

caedes  arma  cruor 

conflictus  proelia  mortes  sanguinis  atra  sitis 

amorem  habendi  sitis  auri 

fraus  dolus 


CRESCONIUS 

Probably  of  the  fourth  century  A.  d.,  was  the  writer 
Cresconius,  of  whom  certain  works  were  extant  at  Lorsch  in 
the  tenth  century,  but  now  no  longer  exist.  An  old  cata- 
logue mentions  "metrum  Cresconii  in  Evangel,  lib.  I;  eiusdem 
de  diis  gentium  luculentissimtim  carmen;  eiusdem  versus  de 
principio  mundi  vel  de  die  iudicii  et  resurrectione  carnis."^ 
From  this  brief  notice  we  may  infer  that  Cresconius  had  written 
a  poem  on  the  subject  of  the  heathen  gods  which  was,  in  the 
opinion  of  the  cataloguer  at  least,  an  able  production,  "Iticu- 
lentissimum  carmen.''  Moreover,  the  tone  so  frequently 
adopted  when  discussing  the  heathen  religious  beli  ,'  by  so 
many  other  writers,  such  as  Tertullian,  Commodianus, 
Arnobius,  Prudentius,  and  Paulinus  of  Nola,  makes  it  extreme- 
ly probable  that  this  poem  also  was  of  a  polemical,  satirical 
nature.  This  Cresconius  may,  or  may  not,  have  been  identi- 
cal with  the  Cresconius  who  was  an  adversary  of  St.  Augustine. 

^  Catalog!  bibliothecarum  antiqui,  ed.  Becker,  N.  37,  459  ff.,  apud 
Manitius,  Ceschichte,  315,  q.  v. 


69 


AMBROSIUS 

A  FREQUENT  and  important  element  in  satirical  writing  is 

the   moral-didactic   element.     In    other   words,    the   satirist 

takes  it  upon  himself  to  preach.     Juvenal,  to  be  sure,  does 

not  preach:  he  draws  vivid  and  drastic  pictures  of  the  worst 

sides  of  Roman  life  and  social  conditions  of  his  day,  without, 

as  a  rule,  appealing  for  or  even  suggesting  reforms.     But  in 

Horace,  for  example,  we  find  the  preaching  tone  prominent. 

Take  for  example  the  passage  beginning  "  Vellem  in  amicitia 

sic  erraremus,^'  in  Sermones,  I,  3.^     This  is  an  argument  directly 

dealing    with    the    improvement    of    character.     "Opinor,'' 

he  c'^'--'     es,   "liaec  res  et  iimgit  iunctos  et  servat  amicos." 

To  noiace  can  strikingly  well  be  applied  the  words  of  Rutilius 

Namatianus, 

Restituit  veterem  censoria  lima  pudorem, 
Dumque  malos  carpit,  praecipit  esse  bonos.^ 

The  converse  of  this  is  also  true.  If  the  satirist  often 
adopts  a  preaching  tone,  so  also  does  the  preacher  adopt  fre- 
quently a  satirical  tone.  It  is  the  office  of  the  preacher,  says 
Dean  Milman,^  to  use  somewhat  of  the  manner  of  the  satirist. 
This  was  true  of  Greek  homilists,  like  Basilios  and  Gregory  of 
Nazianzus,^  and  it  is  also  true  of  the  Latin  churchman  to 
whom  we  shall  now  turn. 

St.  Ambrose  was  not  educated  with  the  career  of  a  church- 
man in  mind.  He  was  born  in  Treves,  about  340,  and  was 
the  son  of  a  praefectus  praetorio.  He  received  his  education 
in  Rome,  and  entered  on  an  official  career.  As  consular  of 
Aemilia  and  Liguria,   with  headquarters  in   Milan,  he  was 

1  Vv.  41-54- 

2  De  Reditu  Suo,  i ,  605-6. 

*  History  of  Christianity,  3,  342. 

*  Forster,  Amhrosius  Bischof  von  Mailand,  p.  209. 

70 


AMBROSIUS  71 

suddenly  and  unexpectedly  chosen  bishop  of  that  diocese, 
when,  as  governor,  he  had  appeared  to  quell  a  tumult  which 
had  arisen  between  rival  parties  in  the  Church.  This  bishop- 
ric Ambrosius  held  till  his  death  in  397,  and  distinguished 
himself  especially  for  ability  of  administration,  utter  fear- 
lessness in  dealing  with  the  secular  power,  and  vigorous 
orthodoxy. 

Three  of  the  sermons  of  Ambrosius  which  are  of  especial 
interest  for  us  are  the  De  Helia  et  leiunio,  the  De  Nabuthae, 
and  the  De  Tobia.  These  afford  an  excellent  example  of 
this  writer's  homiletic  style,  and  reflect  his  own  training  and 
characteristics.  His  was  a  true  Roman  nature,  practical 
and  energetic,  and  he  brought  to  his  task  the  rhetorical 
training  of  his  youth,  joined  to  immense  religious  earnestness.^ 
These  sermons,  being  sermons,  depend  on  ci  Biblical  text, 
and  the  Bible  is  the  source  of  frequent  illustrations  and  refexb 
ences;  but  the  same  types  of  human  nature  are  held  up  to 
scorn,  the  same  thoughts  expressed  in  different  metaphors,  as 
in  the  classical  satirists.^  They  are  characterized  by  SchenkF 
as  '^libelli  tres,  eodem  consilio  scripti — nam  magis  ad  morum 
emendationeni  giiam  ad  librorum  divinorum  explicationem 
spectant  .  .  .  ."  These  three  sermons  inveigh  especially 
against  the  vices  of  drunkenness,  avarice,  and  the  taking 
of   usury. 

In  the  De  Tobia  it  is  the  latter  practice,  that  of  lending 
money  at  interest,  that  is  severely  condemned.  The  tone  of 
this  work  is  stern  and  accusatory,  less  relieved  than  the  other 
two  by  "peintures  de  moeurs  presque  comique."^  Tobias 
furnishes  merely  a  convenient  starting  point,  and  does  not 

^  Bardenhewer,  Patrologie,  403-4.  Forster,  Ambrosius  Bischof  von 
Mailand,  218. 

^  Ampere,  Histoire  litteraire  de  la  France  avant  Charlemagne,  2d  edition, 
I,  384  ff.,  2,  153. 

^  Corpus  Scriptorum  Ecclesiasticorum  Latinorum  32,  2,  Praefatio, 
XVIIII. 

*  Ampere,  Histoire  litteraire,  2,  153. 
6 


72      LATIN   SATIRICAL  WRITING   SUBSEQUENT  TO  JUVENAL 

reappear  till  near  the  end.  In  Chapter  3  is  a  clever  and  vivid 
picture  of  a  typical  money-lender.  The  most  worthy  charities, 
the  most  pitiable  cases  of  destitution,  fail  to  move  him.  He 
swears  he  himself  must  negotiate  a  loan  to  meet  his  own  ex- 
penses. But  hint  at  interest,  and  he  thaws  out  at  once.  He 
remembers  his  friendship  with  the  applicant's  father,  and 
says  that  he  will  melt  up  the  family  plate  before  he  shall  want. 

"  Simul  ut  aliqui  necessitate  constrictus  aut  pro  suorum 
redemptione  sollicitus,  quos  captivos  barbarus  vendat,  rogare 
coeperit,  statim  dives  vultum  avertit,  naturam  non  recog- 
noscit,  humilitatem  supplicis  non  miseratur,  necessitatem 
non  sublevat,  fragilitatem  non  considerat,  stat  inflexibilis, 
resupinus,  non  precibus  inclinatur,  non  lacrimis  movetur, 
non  heiulatibus  frangitur,  iurans  quod  non  habeat,  immo  et 
ipse  faeneratorem  requirat,  ut  necessitatibus  subveniat  suis. 
'.  .  .  at  ubi  usurarum  mentio  facta  fuerit  aut  pignoris,  tunc 
deiecto  supercilio  faenerator  adrisit  et  quem  ante  sibi  cogni- 
tum  denegabat  eundem  tamquam  paternam  amicitiam  re- 
cordatus  osculo  suscipit,  hereditariae  pignus  caritatis  appellat, 
flere  prohibet.  Quaeremus,  inquit,  domi  si  quid  nobis  pe- 
cuniae est,  frangam  propter  te  argentum  paternum,  quod 
fabrifacti  est.  Plurimum  damni  erit.  Quae  usurae  com- 
pensabunt  pretia  emblematorum?  Sed  pro  amico  dispendium 
non  reformidabo." 

Again,  these  usurers  attach  themselves  to  young  and  inex- 
perienced men  who  have  inherited  fortunes.  They  profess 
to  have  known  their  fathers  or  grandfathers.  They  show  a 
kindly  interest  in  their  affairs.  They  urge  them  by  degrees 
to  extravagant  expenditures,  and  if  the  youths'  fortunes  do 
not  suffice,  they  offer  their  own  resources,  making  light  of  the 
interest.  It  is  an  investment,  like  the  expenses  of  the  legacy- 
hunter  in  Horace,  Sermones  II,  5.  Yet  once  the  unfortunate 
man  is  involved  beyond  his  power  to  extricate  himself,  how 
suddenly  they  change!  They  demand  their  principal,  or  an 
iron-clad  note.^ 

^  Chapter  6,  23-24. 


AMBROSIUS  73 

How  miserable  the  state  of  the  debtor!  He  is  like  a  fish 
who  sees  the  hook,  yet  swallows  the  bait.  His  friends  all 
desert  him.  The  thought  of  debt  is  ever  present  to  his  mind. 
He  is  continually  counting  up  what  he  owes,  as  is  also  the 
creditor,  but  with  very  different  emotions.  He  fears  to  meet 
his  creditor.  Should  he  see  him  coming,  he  covers  his  face 
and  hides  behind  a  pillar.  Should  someone  knock  at  his  door 
during  the  night,  in  terror  he  crawls  under  the  bed,  or  jumps 
out  of  the  window.  Even  at  the  barking  of  a  dog,  his  heart 
palpitates,  and  a  cold  sweat  breaks  out. 

"  Ille  gressus  debitoris  singulos  numerat,  aucupatur  de- 
flexus:  iste  continuo  post  columnas  caput  obumbrat;  nuUam 
enim  habet  debitor  auctoritatem.  Ambobus  in  digitis  u?ura- 
rum  repetitur  saepius  calculatio.  Par  cura,  sed  dispar  aftec- 
tus:  alter  laetatur  incremento  faenoris,  alter  cumulo  debi- 
tionis  adfligitur,  ille  quaestus  numerat,  hie  aerumnas.  ...  Si 
quis  pulsaverit  nocte,  faeneratorem  putas:  sub  lectum  ilico. 
Si  quern  subito  intrare  senseris,  tu  foras  exsilis.  Canis  latrat, 
et  cor  tuum  palpitat,  sudor  effunditur,  anhelitus  quatit."^" 

In  the  De  Helia  et  leiunio  Ambrosius  takes  up  the  question 
of  religious  fasting.  He  adduces  examples,  such  as  the 
fasting  of  Elijah,  of  Moses,  of  Christ,  and  of  others.  Fre- 
quently his  argument  takes  the  form  of  satirical  pictures  of 
those  who  indulge  to  excess  in  the  pleasures  of  the  table. 
For  example,  in  Chapter  12,  section  42,  he  describes  a  group 
of  loafers  about  a  tavern,  dwelling  on  the  ridiculous  effects 
which  strong  drink  has  on  them, — how  men  without  money 
enough  to  pay  for  a  night's  lodging  pass  judgment  on  poten- 
tates and  principalities  (like  the  typical  country-grocery 
loafers  in  the  United  States).  For  while  drunk  they  seem  to 
themselves  rich,  they  give  largess  to  the  populace,  they  build 
cities,  without  a  cent  in  their  pockets.  How  brave  and  wise 
and  eloquent  and  handsome  men  think  themselves,  when 
they  are  so  drunk  they  cannot  stand  upright! 

1"  Chapter  7,  25,  26.     Cf.  5,  19. 


74      LATIN   SATIRICAL  WRITING   SUBSEQUENT  TO   JUVENAL 

"  Sedent  in  foribus  tabernarum  homines  tunicam  non 
habentes  nee  sumptum  sequentis  diei.  De  imperatoribus  et 
potestatibus  iudicant,  immo  regnare  sibi  videntur  et  exercitibus 
imperare.  Fiunt  ebrietate  divites  qui  sunt  veritate  inopes. 
Aurum  donant,  dispensant  pecunias  populis,  civitates  aedi- 
ficant  qui  non  habent  cauponi  unde  potus  nisi  suis  corporibus 
pretium  solvant.  Fervet  enim  vinum  in  his,  nesciunt  quid 
loquantur,  divites  sunt,  dum  inebriantur;  mox  ubi  vinum 
digesserint,  cernunt  se  esse  mendicos.  Uno  die  bibunt  mul- 
torum  dierum  labores.  De  ebrietate  ad  arma  consurgitur, 
calicibus  tela  succedunt.  Pro  vino  sanguis  effunditur  et 
ipsum  sanguinem  vina  fuderunt.  Quam  fortes  sibi  homines 
videntur  in  vino,  quam  sapientes,  quam  diserti,  quantum 
etiam  pulchri  ac  decori,  cum  stare  non  possint!"^^ 
^  Nor  are  such  excesses  confined  to  the  lower  classes  of  so- 
ciety. Ambrosius  describes,  with  keen  satirical  touch,  a 
fashionable  banquet,  with  its  silver  vessels,  its  servants 
crowned  with  garlands,  its  mad  rivalry  in  drinking  contests, 
and  the  miserable  condition  to  which  its  participants  reduce 
themselves.  Their  slaves  receive  them,  laughing,  as  they 
come  staggering  out,  and  place  them  on  their  horses.  But 
these  mighty  warriors,  who  have  been  recounting  their  valorous 
deeds  to  their  table  companions,  are  now  too  weak  to  keep 
their  seats  without  assistance.  "In  the  morning  they  are 
resplendent  in  arms,  and  of  a  threatening  countenance:  in 
the  evening  you  may  see  the  same  men  mocked  with  impunity 
by  small  boys,  wounded  without  a  sword,  slain  without  a 
battle,  terrified  without  an  enemy,  trembling  without  being 
old,  feeble  in  the  very  bloom  of  youth." 

"  Cernas  iuvenes  terribilis  visu  hostibus  de  convivio  portari 
foras  et  inde  ad  convivium  reportari,  repleri  ut  exhauriant  et 
exhauriri  ut  bibant.  Si  quis  verecundior  fuerit,  ut  erubescat 
surgere,    cum    iam    immoderatos    potus    tenere    non    possit, 

"  Cf.  Horace,  Epistles,  I,  5,  19: 

Fecundi  calices  quern  non  fecere  disertum? 


AMBROSIUS  75 

anhelare  vehementius,  gemere,  sudare,  signis  prodere  quod 
pudeat  confiteri.  Ibi  unusquisque  pugnas  enarrat  suas,  ibi 
fortia  facta  sua  praedicant,  narrant  tropaea  vino  madidi  et 
somno  soluti  nesciunt  mente  quod  lingua  proferant.  Unus- 
quisque stertit  et  potat,  dormit  et  dimicat,  et  si  quando 
consurrectum  fuerit,  viri  proeliatores  stare  non  possunt, 
egressu  vacillant.  Rident  servuli  dominorum  opprobria, 
manibus  suis  portant  militem  bellatorem,  imponunt  equo. 
Itaque  hac  atque  iliac  tamquam  navigia  sine  gubernatore 
fluctuant  et  tamquam  vulnere  icti  in  terram.  defluunt,  nisi  ex- 
cipiantur  a  servulis.  Alii  referuntur  in  scutis,  fit  pompa  ludi- 
brii.  Quos  mane  insignis  armis  spectaveras,  vultu  minaces, 
eosdem  vesperi  cernas  etiam  a  puerulis  inpune  rideri,  sine 
ferro  vulneratos,  sine  pugna  interfectos,  sine  hoste  turbatos, 
sine  senectute  tremulos,  in  ipso  iuventatis  Acre  marcent?',;"  ^^ 

In  another  place  he  again  satirizes  the  drunkard  bydescrib  - 
ing  the  effects  of  wine:  there  is  an  incessant  ringing  in  the  ears, 
like  v/aves  on  the  shore,  imaginary  dangers  appear,  a  man 
seems  shut  in  by  mountains,  dogs  seem  lions.  Some  laugh, 
some  weep,  and  some  sleep  so  that  they  can  by  no  means  be 
aroused  till  the  effects  of  the  drink  pass  away: 

"  Hinc  etiam  vanae  imagines,  incerti  visus,  instabilis  gressus. 
Umbras  saepe  transiliunt  sicut  foveas.  Nutat  his  terra, 
subito  erigi  et  inclinari  videtur,  quasi  vertatur.  Timentes  in 
faciem  ruunt  et  solum  manibus  adprendunt  aut  concurrentibus 
montibus  sibi  videntur  includi.  Murmur  in  auribus  tamquam 
maris  fluctuantis  fragor  et  resonantia  fluctu  litora.  Canes  si 
viderint,  leones  arbitrantur  et  fugiunt.  Alii  risu  solvuntur 
incondito,  alii  inconsolabili  maerore  deplorant,  alii  inrationa- 
bilis  cernunt  pavores.  Vigilantes  somniant,  dormientes  liti- 
gant. Vita  his  somnium  est,  somnus  his  multus  est.  Ex- 
citari  nullis  vocibus  possunt:  quantolibet  stimulandos  in- 
pulsu  putes,  nisi  resipierint,  vigilare  non  possunt."  ^^ 

12  Chapter  13,  50. 
1^  Chapter  16,  60. 


76      LATIN   SATIRICAL  WRITING   SUBSEQUENT  TO  JUVENAL 

What  are  such  people,  he  asks  ironically,  human  beings  or 
wine-skins?  ^^ homines  hos  an  utres  veriiis  aesiimarim?^^^^ 

Women  as  well  receive  a  sharp  rebuke  at  the  hands  of 
Ambrosius,  for  their  failure  to  obey  the  Apostolic  injunction 
to  stay  at  home  and  be  obedient  to  their  husbands.  Instead 
of  that  they  parade,  intoxicated,  in  the  public  squares,  and 
by  conspicuous  dress  and  deportment  seek  to  attract  the 
attention  of  men: 

"  Sed  quid  de  viris  loquamur  quando  etiam  feminae,  quas 
oportet  sollicitiorem  castitati  sobrietatis  adhibere  custodiam, 
usque  ad  ebrietatem  bibunt?  Deinde  surgentes,  quas  etiam 
intra  secreta  domus  vel  audiri  ab  alienis  non  convenit  vel 
videri,  prodire  in  publicum  non  velato  capite,  vultu  procaci! 
Apostolus  mulieres  tacere  etiam  in  ecclesia  iubet,  domi  viros 
sji'.o^r-  praecipit  interrogare.  Illae  in  plateis  inverecundos 
titiam  viris  sub  conspectu  adulescentulorum  intemperantium 
choros  ducunt,  iactantes  comam,  trahentes  tunicas,  scissae 
amictus,  nudae  lacertos,  plaudentes  manibus,  saltantes 
pedibus,  personantes  vocibus,  inritantes  in  se  iuvenum  libi- 
dines  motu  histrionico,  petulanti  oculo,  dedecoroso  ludibrio." 
Etc.15 

Ambrosius  also,  in  this  sermon,  characterizes  luxury  as  the 
hot-bed  and  source  of  vices:  "Luxuria  seminarium  et  origo 
vitiorum  est.  Nee  arbitremini  me  adversus  Apostolum 
dixisse,  quia  ille  ait  avaritiam  radicem  esse  vitiorum  omnium, 
quoniam  luxuria  ipsius  est  mater  avaritiae."^^  He  condemns 
the  insatiate  greed  of  those  who  pervert  the  gifts  of  nature, 
especially  those  who  sail  the  sea  in  pursuit  of  wealth: 

"Ad  escam  tibi  mare  datum  est,  non  ad  periculum:  cibo, 

non   ad   mercatum,   utere.     Cur   tibi   periculum   generas  de 

voluptate?     Cur    separations    elementi     profunda    rimaris? 

Cur  inquietas  mundi  altiora  sequetur?     Cur  postremo  saepius 

"  17,  64.     Cf.  Juvenal,  6,  474. 

1^  Chapter  18,  66.     Cf.  Hieronymus,  Ep.  22,  13;  below,  p.  83-4. 
^^  Chapter   19,   69.     Cf.    Prudentius,   Hamartigenia,   391    flf.,    Paulinus 
Nolanus,  VI,  242  ff. 


AMBROSIUS  77 

sulcare  atque  exarare  fluctus  inpatiens  nauta  contendis? 
Cur  temptas  frequenter  innoxia  aequora,  inritas  procellas? 
O  inexplebilis  avaritia  mercatorum!"'^ 

Perhaps  most  of  all  in  the  De  NahiUhae  is  one  struck  by  the 
satire  of  Ambrosius.  This  sermon,  which  has  for  its  text  the 
greed  of  King  Ahab  for  the  vineyard  of  Naboth  (III  Kings, 
2i),  with  its  unfortunate  consequences,  deals  with  wealth 
and  poverty,  and,  as  one  might  expect,  with  the  extremes  of 
both.  In  the  fashion  of  the  Stoic  diatribe,  the  writer  dwells 
on  the  unnaturalness,  the  artificiality,  of  property  distinctions. 
Nature  knows  no  such  distinctions.  Naked  we  come  into 
the  world,  and  we  can  take  nothing  with  us  when  we  depart. 

"  Quousque  extenditis,  divites,  insanas  cupiditates?  Num- 
quid  soli  habitabitis  super  terram?  Cur  eicitis  consortem 
naturae  et  vindicatis  vobis  possessionem  naturae?  In  com- 
mune  omnibus,  divitibus  atque  pauperibus,  terra  fundaca  v^^t; 
cur  vobis  ius  proprium  soli,  divites,  adrogatis?  Nescit  natura 
divites,  quae  omnes  pauperes  generat.  Neque  enim  cum 
vestimentis  nascimur,  cum  auro  argentoque  generamur, 
Nudos  fundit  in  lucem  egentes  cibo  amictu  poculo,  nudos 
recipit  terra  quos  edidit,  nescit  fines  possessionum  sepulchre 
includere."     Etc.^^ 

The  rich  man  is  self-deceived  in  thinking  himself  rich. 
The  more  he  has,  the  more  he  wants:  "Quanto  plus  habueris, 
plus  requiris,  et  quidquid  adquisieris,  tamen  tibi  adhuc  indiges. 
Inflammatur  lucro  avaritia,  non  restinguitur."^^ 

^^  Chapter  19,  71.     Cf.  Horace,  Carmina,  I,  3,  21  ff.;  Sermones,  I,  i,  4 
and  29-30;  Epistles,  I,  i,  45.     Gregory  of  Nyssa,  44  M,  p.  1169  c,  quoted 
by  Kiessling-Heinze  apud  Horace,  Ep-istles,  I,  i,  45.     Persius,  5,  132  ff. 
'^  Chapter  1,1. 

1"  Chapter  2,  4.     Cf.  Horace,  Carmina  III,  16,  17  f. : 
Crescentem  sequitur  cura  pccuniam 
Maiorumque  fames. 
Persius  6,  end.     Juvenal  14,  139: 

Crescit  amor  nummi  quantum  ipsa  pecunia  crevit. 
Prudentius,  Hamartigenia,  257: 


78      LATIN   SATIRICAL  WRITING   SUBSEQUENT  TO  JUVENAL 

The  story  of  Ahab  and  Naboth  is  partially  reviewed,  with 
ironical  amplification  of  details;  the  king's  petulant  refusal 
to  touch  food  is  contrasted  with  the  necessities  of  the  poor: 

"  Compara  nunc  afTectum  pauperis.  Nihil  habet  et  ieiunare 
voluntarius  nisi  deo  nescit,  ieiunare  nisi  ex  necessitate  non 
novit.  Eripitis  quidem  pauperibus  universa,  aufertis  omnia, 
nihil  relinquitis,  poenam  tamen  pauperum  vos  potius,  divites, 
sustinetis.  Illi  ieiunant,  si  non  habeant,  vos,  cum  habetis. 
A  vobis  igitur  prius  poenam  exigitis  quam  pauperibus  in- 
rogatis.  Vos  igitur  vestro  affectu  luitis  miserae  paupertatis 
aerumnas,  et  pauperes  quidem  non  habent  quo  utantur,  vos 
autem  nee  ipsi  utimini  nee  alios  uti  sinitis.  Eruitis  aurum  de 
metalli  venis  et  rursus  absconditis."-" 

The  heir  of  the  rich  man  waits  impatiently  and  grumbles 
at  the  long  life  of  his  relative.^^ 

V'erhaps  the  limit  of  miserliness  is  depicted  in  the  instance 
of  the  rich  man,  who,  whenever  an  egg  was  cooked  for  him, 
complained  at  the  loss  of  the  chicken  which  might  have  been 
hatched  from  that  egg:  "  Comperi  etiam  veri  fide,  si  quando 
ovum  esset  adpositum,  qiieri  quod  pulliis  esset  occisus," — an 
example  which  certainly  would  have  delighted  Horace.^^ 

On  the  other  hand,  there  are  those  whose  luxury  consumes 

the  choicest  and  rarest  viands^^  without  a  thought  of  the 

hardships  or  even  actual  suffering  or  loss  of  life  involved  in 

their  acquisition.     It  is  a  new  turn  that  Ambrosius  gives  to 

this  subject.     References  to  excessive  display  and  luxury  at 

table  are  fairly  frequent^'*  but  it  is  not  the  extravagance  so 

Auri  namque  fames  parto  fit  maior  ab  auro. 

Also  again  in  this  same  sermon  (Chapter  6,  28);  "Quid  est  enim  dives  nisi 
inexplebilis  quidam  gurges  divitiarum,  inexplebilis  auri  fames  aut  sitis? 
Quo  plus  hauserit  plus  inardescit." 

20  Chapter  4,  16.     Cf.  Horace,  Sermones,  I,  i,  70  ff.,  II,  3,  104  ff. 

21  Chapter  4,  17.     Cf.  Horace,  Carmina,  IV,  7,  19;  Sermones,  II,  3,  145  flf. 

22  Chapter  4,  18. 

23  Cf.  Juvenal,  i,  135. 

2*  Cf.  Horace,5erwone5,  II,  2.  Seneca,  Epistle  89,  near  the  end.  Lucan, 
Pharsalia,  4,  372;  10,  155.  TertuUian,  De  Pallio,  Chapter  5.  Petronius, 
Cena  Trimalchionis.     Claudian,  In  Eutropium,  2,  330.     Etc. 


AMBROSIUS  79 

much  as  the  accompanying  indifference  or  downright  cruelty 
which  Ambrosius  here  attacks: 

"  Quanti  necantur  ut  vobis  quod  delectat  paretur !  Funesta 
fames  vestra,  funesta  luxuries.  Illi  de  summis  culminibus 
ruit,  ut  frumentis  ampla  vestris  receptacula  praepararet. 
Ille  de  sublimi  cacumine  altae  arboris  decidit,  dum  genera 
explorat  uvarum,  quas  deferat,  quibus  digna  convivio  tuo 
vina  fundantur.  Ille  mari  mersus  est  dum  veretur,  ne  piscis 
mensae  tuae  desit  aut  ostrea.  Ille  brumali  frigore,  dum 
lepores  investigare  aut  laqueis  studet  aves  captare,  diriguit. 
Ille  ante  oculos  tuos,  si  quid  forte  displicuit,  verberatur  ad 
mortem  atque  ipsas  epulas  fuso  cruore  respergit.'"-^ 

In  contrast  to  this  thoughtless  luxury,  the  preacher  draws 
a  powerful  and  touching  picture  of  the  man  whose  poverty 
compels  him  to  sell  one  of  his  children  into  slavery,  to  pi;f;vide 
means  for  the  support  of  the  rest.  The  father's  dilemma  .> 
truly  pitiable;  he  knows  not  which  one  to  part  with.  Each 
son  has  some  peculiar  claim  on  his  father's  love,  yet  he  must 
either  sell  one  or  watch  them  all  slowly  perish  for  lack  of  food.^^ 
But  what  effect  has  his  pitiful  case  on  the  rich?  None, 
avarice  stops  their  ears.  Here  Ambrosius  satirizes  woman 's 
love  of  jewelry  and  fine  raiment,  the  cost  of  which  would 
bring  happiness  to  many  a  poverty-stricken  wretch.  Women 
rejoice  in  burdens  and  fetters,  if  they  be  but  precious  material. 
They  will  even  wound  their  bodies  for  the  sake  of  displaying 
jewels.  They  dress  for  looks,  not  for  comfort;  and  nature 
yields  to  the  love  of  wealth : 

"  Ilia  tibiinponetsumptuum  necessitatem,  ut  gemma  bibat, 
in  ostro  dormiat,  in  argentea  sponda  recumbat,  auro  oneret 
manus,  cervicem  monilibus.  Delectantur  et  conpedibus 
mulieres,  dummodo  auro  ligentur:  non  putant  onera  esse,  si 
pretiosa  sint,  non  existimant  vincula  esse,  si  in  his  thensaurus 
coruscet.     Delectant  et  vulnera,  ut  aurum  auribus  inseratur 

2^  Chapter  5,  20. 
'^^  Chapters,  21-24. 


80      LATIN   SATIRICAL  WRITING   SUBSEQUENT   TO  JUVENAL 

et  margaritae  pendeant.  Habent  et  gemmae  pondera  sua, 
habent  et  vestes  sua  frigora.  Sudatur  in  gemmis,  algetur  in 
sericis:  tamen  pretia  iuvant  et  quae  natura  aversatur  com- 
mendat  avaritia."^^ 

Again,  in  Chapter  13,  56,  Ambrosius  returns  to  the  same 
thought,  attacking  with  vigorous  antitheses  the  maintenance  of 
luxurious  estabUshments  in  the  face  of  wide-spread  poverty.^^ 
"  Deinde  non  ipsas  vos  pudoris  aula  admonet,  qui  aedifi- 
cando  vestras  vultis  superare  divitias  nee  tamen  vincitis.^^ 
Parietes  vestitis,  nudatis  homines.  Clamat  ante  domum 
tuum  nudus,  et  negligis:  clamat  homo  nudus,  et  tu  solHcitus 
es  quibus  marmoribus  pavimenta  tua  vestias.  Pecuniam 
pauper  quaerit  et  non  habet:  panem  postulat  homo,  et  equus 
tuus  aurum  sub  dentibus  mandit.  Sed  delectant  te  ornamenta 
pretiosa,  cum  alii  frumenta  non  habeant:  quantum,  o  dives, 
•ixidicium  tibi  sumis!  Populus  esurit,  et  tu  horrea  tua  claudis; 
populus  deplorat,  et  tu  gemmam  tuam  versas.  Infelix,  cuius 
in  potestate  est  tantorum  animas  a  morte  defendere  et  non 
est  voluntas!  To  tins  vitam  populi  poterat  anuli  tui  gemma 
servare." 

Like  Horace,  Ambrosius  lays  stress  on  the  fact  that  the 
avaricious  man  gets  no  comfort  from  his  hoard;  he  is  con- 
tinually tormented  by  anxiety  for  its  safety;  he  is  a  slave  to 
his  avarice;  his  wealth  owns  him,  not  he  his  wealth.^"  Ex- 
citat  eum  cupiditas,  exagitat  cura  pervigil  aliena  rapiendi, 
torgiiet  invidia,  mora  vexat,  sterilitas  proventuum  infecunda 
pertiirhat,  sollicitat  ahundantia?^  And  again,  Servitis,  divites, 
ac  miseram  qiiidem  servitutem,  qui  servitis  errori,  servitis  cu- 
piditati,  servitis  avaritiae,  quae  expleri  non  potest.^- 

It  is  worth  noticing  that  Ambrosius  makes  frequent  use  of 

"  Chapter  5,  25-26. 

-^  See  Forster,  Ambrosius  Bischof  von  Mailand,  231. 

2^  Cf.  Hieronymus,  Epistle  22,  32. 

'"  Cf.  Horace,  Sermones,  I,  i,  76  ff.;  Epistles,  I,  10,  39  ff. 

'1  Chapter  6,  29. 

32  Chapter  12,  52.     Cf.  Chapter  14,  62-15,  63. 


AMBROSIUS  8l 

the  device — common  enough  in  diatribe  and  satirical  writing — 
of  a  fictitious  opponent,  to  be  overwhelmed  by  his  argument,  or 
crushed  by  his  scorn.  Sometimes  it  is  one  adversary,  some- 
times more  than  one,  sometimes  he  uses  both  singular  and 
plural  numbers  in  the  same  sentence.  E.  g.  De  Nabuthae, 
13.  54.  Quid  enim  superbias,  dives?  quid  dicas  pauperi:  noli 
me  tangere?  13,  55,  Mir  or  tamen  cur  eo  vos,  divites,  iactandos 
putetis.     8,  40,  Sed  fortasse  dicas  quod  vulgo  soletis  dicer e. 

We  should  not  be  surprised  at  the  evidences  of  similarity 
between  these  sermons  of  Ambrosius  and  classical  satirical 
writing.  As  he  was  writing  from  much  the  same  point  of  view 
as  the  earlier  writers,  and  with  much  the  same  purpose — to 
point  out  and  criticize  the  faults  of  humanity — it  is  entirely 
natural  that  he  should  achieve  a  not  dissimilar  result.  Dif- 
ferences there  are,  differences  of  age,  and  personality,  and 
differences  caused  by  the  introduction  of  Christianity,  but 
down  at  the  bottom  the  spirit  of  satire  is  scarcely  changed  at  all. 


HIERONYMUS 

EusEBius  HiERONYMUS,  who  was  a  native  of  Stridon  in 
Dalmatia,  and  who  lived  from  about  348  to  420  a.  d.,  was  one 
of  the  most  learned,  vigorous,  and  prolific  writers  produced 
by  the  early  Christian  Church.  In  fact,  it  has  been  said  that 
to  him,  with  almost  more  right  than  to  Lactantius,  should 
fall  the  honor  of  being  known  as  "the  Christian  Cicero."^ 
His  translations  of  and  voluminous  commentaries  on  the 
Scriptures  would  alone  suffice  to  win  him  distinction;  but 
also  of  much  interest  and  importance  will  be  found  his  letters 
and  polemical  writings. 

In  many  of  these  the  satirical  element  plays  an  important 
part.  And  a  man  of  Hieronymus'  austere  and  ascetic  tem- 
perament could  find  enough  to  satirize  in  contemporary  life. 
The  Church  itself  was  afflicted  with  widespread  corruption 
and  vice  and  luxury .^  The  old  habit  of  legacy-hunting  had 
become  so  prevalent  that  the  Christian  clergy  were  especially 
forbidden  to  receive  bequests. 

"I  am  ashamed  to  say,"  says  Hieronymus,  "that  idolaters 
and  performers  of  mimes  and  chariot-drivers  and  harlots  all 
receive  bequests:  only  to  the  clergy  and  monks  is  this  legally 
forbidden ;  and  it  is  forbidden  not  by  those  wishing  to  persecute 
them,  but  by  the  very  leaders  of  the  Church.  I  do  not  com- 
plain about  the  law,  but  I  am  sorry  such  a  law  is  necessary. "^ 

Ambition,  avarice,  vanity,  effeminacy,  pride,  superstition, 
all  found  in  Hieronymus  an  eager  and  uncompromising  op- 
ponent. Shams  of  all  kinds  were  especially  hateful  to  him, 
from  the  use  of  false  hair  and  cosmetics  to  the  subtlest  kinds  of 

1  Zockler,  Hieronymus,  Sein  Leben  und  Wirken,  323. 
'^A.  Thierry,  St.  Jerome,  I,  15  ff.     Griitzmacher,  Hieronymus,  i,  281. 
Cf.  Ammianus  Marcellinus,  27,  14. 
^  Epistle  52,  6. 

82 


HIERONYMUS  83 

clerical  and  monkish  hypocrisy.  Heretics  hated  him  because 
of  his  vigorous  orthodoxy;  the  clergy  hated  him  because  he 
unceasingly  rebuked  their  immorality  and  vices.^  The 
pictures  which  he  draws  in  his  denunciations,  worthy  of 
Juvenal,  are  graphic  and  vivid,  and  might  almost  be  taken 
as  of  pagan  times.^ 

The  famous  letter  to  Eustochium,  daughter  of  Paula, 
de  custodia  virginitatis  (Epistle  22),  is  a  rich  mine  of  this  sort 
of  material.  We  know  that  the  extreme  outspokenness  of 
this  little  document,  "the  most  celebrated  and  the  most 
aggressive  of  his  polemical  works,  "^  produced  no  small  excite- 
ment in  Rome,  and  not  improbably  hastened  his  own  departure 
from  the  city.'''  The  author  himself  tells  us  that  this  "  sermo 
offendit  pliirimos,  dum  unusquisque  in  se  intelligens  quod  dice- 
hatiir,  non  quasi  monitorem  libenter  audivit,  sed  quasi  crimi- 
natorem  sui  operis  aversatus  est."^  In  other  words,  the  public 
received  it  in  a  spirit  strikingly  like  that  which  Horace  com- 
plains of  in  the  fourth  satire  of  the  first  book. 

In  this  letter  to  Eustochium  Hieronymus  pictures  for  us 
some  of  the  rottenness  which  had  invaded  all  ranks  of  the 
Christian  world.  Men  and  women  alike  had  fallen  away 
from  the  spiritual  ideals  of  the  past  and  were  yielding  them- 
selves to  sensuality,  and  mocked  at  those  who  remained  pure. 
A  very  drastic  description  of  the  depths  of  dishonor  and  even 
crime  to  which  so  many  so-called  "virgines''  had  sunk  closes 
with  the  contemptuous  words:  "They  are  the  ones  who 
say,  'To  the  pure  all  things  are  pure,'  who  walk  through  the 
streets  striving  with  every  detail  of  dress  and  manner  to 
attract  the  attention  of  young  men,  whose  modesty  and  vir- 
ginity is  a  delusion  and  a  sham:" 

^  Sulpicius  Severus,  Dial.,  I,  8,  6;  9,  4;  21,  5. 

^  Milman,  History  of  Latin  Christianity,  1,  113.  Thierry,  St.  Jerome,  i. 
Preface  VII. 

®  Thierry,  St.  Jerome,  i,  186. 

'  Schanz,  Geschichte,  IV,  i,  441-2,  446. 

*  Epistle  130,  19. 


84      LATIN   SATIRICAL  WRITING   SUBSEQUENT  TO   JUVENAL 

Istae  sunt  quae  solent  dicere  "omnia  munda  mundis."  .  .  . 
Hae  sunt  quae  per  publicum  notabiliter  incedunt  et  furtivis 
oculorum  nutibus  adulescentium  gregem  post  se  trahunt, 
quae  semper  audiunt  per  prophetam  "Facies  meretricis  facta 
est  tibi,  inpudorata  es  tu."^  Purpura  tan  turn  in  veste  sit  tenuis 
et  laxius  ut  crines  decidant,  ligatum  caput,  soccus  vilior  et 
per  umeros  maforte  volitans,  strictae  manicae  bracchiis  ad- 
haerentes  et  solutis  genibus  fractus  incessus:  haec  est  apud 
illas  tota  virginitas.  Habeant  istiusmodi  laudatores  suos  et 
sub  virginali  nomine  lucrosius  pereant:  libenter  talibus  non 
placemus.^" 

Equally  indignant  is  his  characterization  of  a  certain  class 
of  married  women  and  widows.  "Avoid  the  society  of 
matrons,"  he  bids  Eustochium,  '^ad  hominis  coniiigem  Dei 
sponsa  quid  properas?  .  .  .  Neque  vero  earum  te  tantum  cupio 
dedinare  congressus,  quae  maritorum  inflantur  honoribus, 
quas  eunuchorum  greges  saepiunt  et  in  quarum  vestihus  adte- 
nuata  in  filum  metalla  texuntur^' — a  picture  drawn  with  a  few 
brief  strokes,  but  distinctly  satirical.  "Not  only  these," 
he  resumes,  "but  shun  also  those  who  are  widows  from  neces- 
sity, not  from  choice, — not  that  they  ought  to  desire  the  death 
of  their  husbands,  but  that  they  do  not  gladly  embrace  the 
offered  opportunity  for  a  life  of  holiness  and  chastity. — One 
would  think  from  their  ruddy  cheeks  and  their  plumpness 
that  they  had  not  lost  husbands,  but  were  seeking  them. 
Their  houses  are  full  of  flattery  and  banqueting.  Even  the 
priests  who  ought  to  be  objects  of  reverence,  kiss  the  brows  of 
their  patronesses  and  with  outstretched  hand,  so  that  you 
might  think  them  to  be  pronouncing  a  blessing  if  you  did  not 
know,  they  receive  the  payment  for  their  salutation."  No 
wonder  Hieronymus  was  not  popular  with  his  clerical  brethren ! 
He  continues, 

"  Illae  interim,  quae  sacerdotes  suo  vident  indigere  praesidio, 

*  Jeremiah,  3,  3.  Cf.  Ambrosius,  De  Helia  et  leiunio,  18,  66;  above, 
p.  76. 

1"  Epistle  22,  13. 


HIERONYMUS  85 

eriguntur  in  superbiam  et,  quia  maritorum  expertae  domi- 
natum  vidiiitatis  praeferunt  libertatem,  castae  vocantur  et 
nonnae,  et  post  cenam  dubiam  apostolos  somniant."^^ 

It  is  on  the  clergy,  "  men  of  my  own  station,"  that  Hierony- 
mus  pours  out  the  bitterest  quintessence  of  his  satire.  Fops 
and  dandies,  their  very  motive  in  becoming  clergymen  is  often 
that  they  may  have  freer  access  to  female  society : 

"  Omnis  his  cura  de  vestibus,  si  bene  oleant,  si  pes  laxa  pelle 
non  folleat.  Crines  calamistri  vestigio  rotantur,  digiti  de  anulis 
radiant  et,  ne  plantas  umidior  via  spargat,  vix  inprimunt 
summa  vestigia.  Tales  cum  videris,  sponsos  magis  aestimato 
quam  clericos.  Quidam  in  hoc  omne  studium  vitamque 
posuerunt,  ut  matronarum  nomina,  domos  moresque  cog- 
noscant." 

Follows   the   remarkable   passage: 

"  E  quibus  unum,  qui  huius  artis  est  princeps,  breviter 
strictimque  describam,  quo  facilius  magistro  cognito  dis- 
cipulos  recognoscas.  Cum  sole  festinus  exsurgit;  salutandi 
ei  ordo  disponitur;  viarum  compendia  requiruntur  et  paene 
usque  ad  cubilia  dormientium  senex  inportunus  ingreditur. 
Si  pulvillum  viderit,  si  mantele  elegans,  si  aliquid  domesticae 
supellectilis,  laudat,  miratur  et  se  his  indigere  conquerens 
non  tam  inpetrat  quam  extorquet,  quia  singulae  metuunt 
veredarium  urbis  offendere.  Huic  inimica  castitas,  inimica 
ieiunia;  prandium  nidoribus  probat  et  "altilis"  "7epcoj^" 
vulgo  "ttotttv^uv"  nominatur.  Os  barbarum  et  procax 
et  in  convicia  semper  armatum.  Quocumque  te  verteris, 
primus  in  facie  est.  Quidquid  novum  insonuerit,  aut  auctor 
aut  exaggerator  est  famae.  Equi  per  horarum  momenta 
mutantur  tam  nitidi,  tam  feroces,  ut  ilium  Thracii  regis  putes 
esse  germanum."^^ 

"  Epistle  22,  16. 

J2  Epistle  22,  28.  "  I  will  describe  one  of  these,  who  is  the  chief  of  this 
sort,  briefly,  so  that  by  knowing  the  master  you  may  more  easily  recognize 
the  disciples.  He  arises  with  the  sun,  makes  a  list  of  morning  calls, 
hurries  along  cross-cuts,  and  almost  intrudes  himself  into  people's  sleeping- 


86      LATIN   SATIRICAL  WRITING   SUBSEQUENT  TO  JUVENAL 

Did  Hieronymus'  title  as  a  satirist  rest  on  this  description 
alone,  it  would  still  be  secure, — so  vivid  and  lifelike  and 
merciless  are  the  details,  weaving  into  a  connected  whole 
which  doubtless  could  not  fail  to  be  recognized  and  identified 
by  readers  familiar  with  contemporary  characters. 

Still  darker  charges  could  be  brought  against  the  Roman 
churchmen  and  ascetics,  and  were  not  neglected  by  the  un- 
sparing Hieronymus: 

"  Pudet  dicere,  pro  nefas!  triste  sed  verum  est:  unde  in 
ecclesias  agapetarum  pestis  introiit?  unde  sine  nuptiis 
aliud  nomen  uxorum?  immo  unde  novum  concubinarum 
genus?  Plus  inferam:  unde  meretrices  univirae?  Eadem 
domo,  uno  cubiculo,  saepe  uno  tenentur  et  lectulo,  et  suspi- 
ciosos  nos  vocant,  si  aliquid  aestimemus.  Prater  sororem 
virginem  deserit,  caelibem  spernit  virgo  germanum,  et,  cum 
in  eodem  proposito  esse  se  simulent,  quaerunt  alienorum 
spiritale  solacium,  ut  domi  habeant  carnale  commercium."^^ 

Another  satirical  picture  warns  Eustochium  against  pride, 
display,  and  avarice,  by  holding  up  to  scorn  those  women 
who  provide  themselves  with  more  fine  clothes  than  they  can 
even  keep  free  from  moths,  who  possess  purple  and  jeweled 
manuscripts  while  the  poor  are  dying  around  them,  who  give 
alms  only  for  their  own  display  and  not  in  the  spirit  of  Chris- 
tian charity. 

"At  nunc  plerasque  videas  armaria  stipare  vestibus,  tunicas 

mutare  cotidie  et  tamen  tineas  non  posse  superare.     Quae 

rooms  before  they  are  awake,  in  his  zeal.  If  he  sees  a  cushion  or  an  at- 
tractive cloak  or  some  article  of  household  furniture,  he  praises  it,  admires 
it,  touches  it,  laments  that  he  has  to  do  without  such,  and  not  so  much 
receives  it  as  a  gift  as  extorts  it,  because  his  hostesses  being  single  individuals 
do  not  dare  to  cross  the  gossip-carrier  of  the  whole  city.  Purity  and  fasting 
are  hateful  to  him;  he  can  tell  a  good  dinner  by  the  smell;  he  is  commonly 
called  'altilis'  (stuffed), '76PC0;' ,'  ' iroTnrv^coi'.'  His  speech  is  harsh  and 
shameless,  always  ready  to  abuse.  Wherever  you  turn,  he  is  the  first 
person  you  see.  Whatever  news  there  is,  he  either  originated  it  or  exag- 
gerated it.  He  has  so  many  and  so  fine  horses  that  you  might  take  him 
for  the  brother  of  the  king  of  Thrace." 

"  Epistle  22,  14.     Thierry,  St.  Jerome,  i,  15,  289,  note  2. 


HIERONYMUS  87 

religiosior  fuerit,  unum  extent  vestimentum  et  plenis  arcis 
pannos  trahit.  Inficitur  membrana  colore  purpureo,  aurum 
liquescit  in  litteras,  gemmis  codices  vestiuntur  et  nudus  ante 
fores  earum  Cliristus  emoritur.  Cum  manum  porrexerint, 
bucinant;  cum  ad  agapen  vocaverint,  praeco  conducitur. 
Vidi  nuper — nomen  taceo,  ne  saturam  putes — nobilissimam 
mulierum  Romanarum  in  basilica  beati  Petri  semiviris  ante- 
cedentibus  propria  manu,  quo  religiosior  putaretur,  singulos 
nummos  dispertire  pauperibus.  Interea,— ut  usu  nosse 
perfacile  est — anus  quaedam  annis  pannisque  obsita  prae- 
currit,  ut  alterum  nummum  acciperet;  ad  quern  cum  ordine 
pervenisset,  pugnus  porrigitur  pro  denario  et  tanti  criminis 
reus  sanguis  effunditur."^"* 

If  cold-hearted  luxury  is  bad,  pretended  poverty  is  even 
worse,  for  hypocrisy  is  added.  The  shamming  of  an  ascetic 
look  and  manner  of  life  rightly  aroused  the  wrath  of  the  great 
moralist,  both  when  it  was  done  by  women  who  put  on  a 
pious  look  as  soon  as  they  saw  anyone  approaching,  and 
dressed  meanly,  though  feeding  themselves  well, — and  by 
men  who  went  about  barefooted,  paying  no  attention  to  hair 
or  clothes,  deceiving  credulous  women  by  their  holy  appear- 
ance, and  by  stolen  meals  at  night  keeping  up  the  pretence 
of  a  protracted  fast. 

"Sunt  quippe  nonnullae  exterminantes  facies  suas,  ut  pareant 
hominibus  ieiunare;  quae,  statim  ut  aliquem  viderint,  inge- 
mescunt,  demittunt  supercilium  et  operta  facie  vix  unum 
oculum  liberant  ad  videndum;  vestis  pulla,  cingulum  sacceum 
et  sordidis  manibus  pedibusque  venter  solus,  quia  videri  non 
potest,  aestuat  cibo;  .  .  .  Sed  ne  tantum  videar  disputare 
de  feminis,  viros  quoque  fuge,  quos  videris  catenatos,  quibus 
feminei  contra  apostolum  crines,  hircorum  barba,  nigrum 
pallium  et  nudi  in  patientiam  frigoris  pedes.  Haec  omnia 
argumenta  sunt  diaboli,     Talem  olim  Antimum,  talem  nuper 

1^  Epistle  22,  32.  Cf.  Ambrosius,  De  Nabuthae,  Chapter  13,  56;  above 
p.  80. 

7 


88      LATIN   SATIRICAL  WRITING   SUBSEQUENT  TO  JUVENAL 

Sofronium  Roma  congemuit.  Qui  postqiiam  nobilium  in- 
troierint  domos  et  deceperint  mulierculas  oneratas  peccatis, 
semper  discentes  et  numquam  ad  scientiam  veritatis  perveni- 
entes,  tristitiam  simulant  et  quasi  longa  ieiunia  furtivis  noc- 
tium  cibis  protrahunt."^^ 

One  class  of  monks  in  particular  aroused  Hieronymus' 
disgust  and  antipathy  for  similar  reasons.  These  were  the 
monks  in  Egypt  called  "Remnuoth,"  "genus  deterrimum 
atgue  neglectum,"  who,  if  not  the  only  ones,  were  at  least  the 
first  to  enter  Italy.  They  lived  by  twos  and  threes  scattered 
about  in  larger  communities,  and  made  articles  which  they 
sold  at  exorbitant  prices.  They  were  prone  to  quarrelling, 
endured  no  discipline,  and  their  piety  and  self-abnegation 
was  only  pretence. 

"  Habitant  autem  quamplurimum  in  urbibus  et  castellis,  et 
quasi  ars  sit  sancta,  non  vita,  quidquid  vendiderint,  maioris 
est  pretii.  Inter  hos  saepe  sunt  iurgia,  quia  suo  viventes 
cibo  non  patiuntur  se  alicui  esse  subiectos.  Re  vera  solent 
certare  ieiuniis  et  rem  secreti  victoriae  faciunt.  Apud  hos 
affectata  sunt  omnia:  laxae  manicae,  caligae  follicantes, 
vestis  grossior,  crebra  suspiria,  visitatio  virginum,  detrectatio 
clericorum,  et  si  quando  festior  dies  venerit,  saturantur  ad 
vomitum.''^^ 

A  satirical  passage  where  the  Horatian  parallel  is  given  by 
Hieronymus  himself  is  found  in  Epistle  53,  6-7.  He  remarks 
how  the  various  arts  and  sciences,  even  the  humbler  occu- 
pations, demand  a  trained  and  skilful  workman  to  produce 
successful  results;  and  utters  a  tirade  against  the  talkative 
old  women,  the  doting  old  men,  the  ignoramuses  of  all  kinds, 
who  profess  to  teach  the  Scriptures  without  knowing  anything 

about  them: 

"  Quod  medicorum  est 
Promittunt  medici;  tractant  fabrilia  fabri.^^ 

^^  Epistle  22,  27-28. 

^^  Epistle  22,  34. 

"  Horace,  Epistles,  II,  i,  115-6. 


HIERONYMUS  89 

Sola  Scripturarum  ars  est,  quam  sibi  omnes  passim  vindicant: 
Scribimus  indocti  doctique  poemata  passim.^^ 

"  Hanc  garrula  anus,  banc  debrus  senex,  banc  soloecista 
verbosus,  banc  universi  praesumunt,  lacerant,  decent,  ante- 
quam  discant.  Abi  adducto  supercibo  grandia  verba  truti- 
nantes  inter  muberculas  de  sacris  btteris  philosopbantur, 
abi  discunt — pro  pudor — a  feminis,  quod  viros  doceant,  et 
ne  parum  boc  sit,  quadam  facibtate  verborum,  immo  audacia 
disserunt  abis,  quod  ipsi  non  intebegunt.  Taceo  de  meis 
simibbus,  qui  si  forte  ad  Scripturas  sanctas  post  saeculares 
btteras  venerint  et  sermone  conposito  aurem  popub  mul- 
serint,  quicquid  dixerint,  boc  legem  Dei  putant  nee  scire 
dignantur,  quid  prophetae,  quid  apostob  senserint,  sed  ad 
sensum  suum  incongrua  aptant  testimonia,  quasi  grande  sit 
et  non  vitiosissimum  dicendi  genus  depravare  sententias  et 
ad  voluntatem  suam  Scripturam  trabere  repugnantem.  .  .  . 
Pueriba  sunt  baec  et  circulatorum  ludo  similia,  docere,  quod 
ignores,  immo,  ut  cum  Cbtomacbo  loquar,  ne  boc  quidem 
scire,  quod  nescias." 

In  otbers  of  bis  letters  Hieronymus  satirizes  tbe  avarice 
and  worldbness  of  botb  clergy  and  monks.  Tbis  bad  grown 
to  sucb  proportions  tbat  clergymen  were  forbidden  by  law 
to  receive  bequests,  as  mentioned  above,  but  tbese  laws  were 
evaded  by  tbe  fiction  of  trusteesbips  and  similar  means,  so 
tbat  Hieronymus  could  say  "Eagerness  for  personal  wealtb 
is  tbe  sbame  of  the  wbole  priestbood."  In  a  passage  like  tbe 
following,  wbicb  describes,  first,  tbe  extreme  of  luxury  at 
table  wbicb  priests  of  bumble  origin  now  demand,  and  second, 
tbe  bumiliating  and  bypocritical  deptbs  to  wbicb  tbey  will 
stoop  in  tbe  bope  of  pecuniary  gain,  we  have  a  picture,  dif- 
ferent indeed  in  detail,  but  very  similar  in  underlying  thought, 
to  that  of  tbe  professional  "captator"  immortalized  by  Horace. 

"  Natus  in  paupere  domo  et  in  tugurio  rusticano,  qui  vix 
milio  et  cibario  pane  rugientem  saturare  ventrem  poteram, 
1^  Horace,  Epistles,  II,  i,  117. 


90      LATIN   SATIRICAL  WRITING  SUBSEQUENT  TO  JUVENAL 

nunc  similam  et  mella  fastidio,  novi  et  genera  et  nomina 
piscium,  in  quo  litore  conca  lecta  sit,  calleo,  saporibus  avium 
discerno  provincias^^  et  ciborum  me  raritas  ac  novissime 
damna  ipsa  delectant.  Audio  praeterea  in  senes  et  anus 
absque  liberis  quorundam  turpe  servitium.  Ipsi  opponunt 
mattulam,  obsident  lectum  et  purulentias  stomachi  et  phleg- 
mata  pulmonis  manu  propria  suscipiunt.  Pavent  ad  in- 
troitum  medici  trementibusque  labiis,  an  commodius  habeant, 
sciscitantur  et,  si  paululum  senex  vegetior  fuerit,  periclitantur 
ac  simulata  laetitia  mens  intrinsecus  avara  torquetur.  Timent 
enim,  ne  perdant  ministerium,  et  vivacem  senem  Mathusalae 
annis  comparant.''^" 

Elsewhere  he  pays  his  respects  to  those  who,  professing 
to  have  renounced  the  world,  still  devote  themselves  to  the 
accumulation  of  wealth  and  become  richer  as  monks  than  they 
had  been  as  laymen,  who  alter  their  garb  but  not  their  lives, 
who  retain  their  throngs  of  servants,  or  those  who  apparently 
of  humble  estate,  are  found  at  their  death  to  be  possessed  of 
large  fortunes. 

"  Alii  nummum  addant  nummo  et  marsuppium  suffocantes 
matronarum  opes  venentur  obsequiis,  sint  ditiores  monachi, 
quam  fuerant  saeculares,  possideant  opes  sub  Christo  paupere, 
quas  sub  locuplete  diabolo  non  habuerant,  et  suspiret  eos 
ecclesia  divites,  quos  tenuit  mundus  ante  mendicos;  etc."^^ 

"  Vidi  ego  quosdam  qui  postquam  renuntiavere  saeculo, 
vestimentis  duntaxat,  et  vocis  professione,  non  rebus,  nihil 
de  pristina  conversatione  mutarunt.  Res  familiaris  magis 
aucta  quam  imminuta.  Eadem  ministeria  servulorum,  idem 
apparatus  convivii.  In  vitro  et  patella  fictili  aurum  comeditur 
et  inter  turbas  et  examina  ministrorum,  nomen  sibi  vindicant 
solitarii.  Qui  vero  pauperes  sunt  et  tenui  substantiola, 
videnturque  sibi  scioli;  pomparum  ferculis  similes  procedunt 
in  publicum,  ut  caninam  exerceant  facundiam.      Alii  sublatis 

"  Cf.  Horace,  Sermones,  II,  2,  31. 

20  Epistle  52,  6. 

21  Epistle  60,  II. 


HIERONYMUS  9 1 

in  altum  humeris,  et  intra  se  nescio  quid  cornicantes,  stupen- 
tibusque  in  terram  oculis,  tumentia  verba  trutinantur,  ut 
si  praeconem  addideris,  putes  incedere  praefecturam.  .  .  . 
Quodque  pudet  dicere,  sed  necesse  est,  ut  saltern  sic  ad  nos- 
trum erubescamus  dedecus,  publice  extendentes  manus, 
pannis  aurum  tegimus:  et  contra  omnium  opinionem,  plenis 
sacculis  morimur  divites  qui  quasi  pauperes  viximus."^^ 

In  line  with  Hieronymus'  criticisms  of  such  pretence  and 
hypocrisy  are  also  his  strictures  on  women  who  use  false  hair, 
who  paint  and  plaster  their  faces  till  the  course  of  an  accidental 
tear  resembles  a  furrow  made  by  a  plow,  who  can  never 
realize  that  they  have  grown  old,  but  make  up  as  girls  in  the 
very  presence  of  their  grandchildren: 

"Illae  Christianos  oculos  potius  scandalizent,  quae  purpur- 
isso  et  quibusdam  fucis  ora  oculosque  depingunt,  quarum  facies 
gypseae  et  nimio  candore  deformes  idola  mentiuntur,  quibus 
si  forte  inprovidens  lacrimarum  stilla  eruperit,  sulco  defluit, 
quas  nee  numerus  annorum  potest  docere,  quod  vetulae 
sunt,  quae  capillis  alienis  verticem  instruunt  et  praeteritam 
iuventutem  in  rugis  anilibus  poliunt,  quae  denique  ante 
nepotum  gregem  trementes  virgunculae  conponuntur."^^ 

Again : 

"  Quanto  foedior,  tanto  pulchrior.  Quid  facit  in  facie 
Christianae  purpurissus  et  cerussa?  quorum  alterum  ruborem 
genarum  labiorumque  mentitur,  alterum  candorem  oris  et 
colli:  ignes  iuvenum,  fomenta  libidinum,  inpudicae  mentis 
indicia.  Quomodo  Here  potest  pro  peccatis  suis,  quae  lac- 
rimis  cutem  nudat  et  sulcos  ducit  in  facie?"^^ 

Still  again,  he  warns  a  correspondent, 

"  Fuge  lasciviam  puellarum,  quae  ornant  capita,  crines  a 
fronte  demittunt,  cutem  poliunt,  utuntur  pigmentis,  adstrictas 

2^^  Epistle  125,  16. 
"  Epistle,  38,  3. 
^  Epistle  54,  7. 


92      LATIN   SATIRICAL  WRITING   SUBSEQUENT  TO  JUVENAL 

habent  manicas,  vestimenta  sine  ruga,  soccosque  crispantes: 
ut  sub  nomine  virginali,  vendibilius  pereant."^^ 

The  foregoing  illustrations  may  serve  to  show  the  nature  of 
Hieronymus'  use  of  satire  in  his  letters.  In  his  controversial, 
polemical  works  also,  we  find  the  satirical  element  present, 
but  in  a  somewhat  different  form.  Hieronymus  was  not, 
like  so  many  of  the  early  Christian  writers,  an  apologist  against 
the  pagan  religions.  It  is,  in  fact,  rather  surprising  how 
little  attention  he  paid  to  the  relations  between  Christian 
and  pagan."^  His  controversial  writings  were  instead  con- 
fined to  acrimonious  disputes  on  points  of  doctrine  with  various 
heretics,  or  those  who  had  attacked  his  own  pet  beliefs.  It 
is  a  curious  fact  that  rarely,  if  anywhere,  can  one  find  more 
intolerance  and  bitterness  displayed  than  between  two  op- 
ponents within  the  early  Christian  Church.  And  Hieronymus' 
controversies  are  no  exception  to  this."  In  his  books  against 
Jovinian,  Rufinus,  Vigilantius,  and  Helvidius,  he  exults  in  the 
most  extremely  bitter  invective,  and  contemptuous  sarcasm 
and  scorn.  Whereas  in  his  letters  he  does  not  name  the  objects 
of  his  most  pointed  references,^^  here  he  does  not  shrink  in 
the  least  from  the  employment  of  personal  satire. 

Perhaps  the  short  book  Contra  Vigilantiiim  is  one  of  the 

best  examples  of  this  kind   of  writing.^^     All   the  fabulous 

monsters  of  the  Old  Testament  and  of  pagan  mythology, 

and  Hieronymus  enumerates  a  list  of   them,  must  yield  to 

this   new   monster   which   has   arisen   in    Gaul.     Vigilantius 

opposes  the  practice  of  vigils:  therefore  let  him  be  known 

rather  as    Dormitantius, — "  tu  vigilans   dormis,   et  dormiens 

scribis."  ^^     He  would  abolish  the  reverent  care  and  adoration 

of  holy  relics :  should  they  then  be  thrown  on  a  dung-hill  ?   Were 

25  Epistle  130,  18. 

2^  Griitzmacher,  Hieronymus,  i,  275  ff. 

2'  Schanz,  Geschichte,  IV,  i,  445.     Milman,  History  of  Christianity,  3,  334. 
2^  See  below,  p.  99. 

29  Milman,  History  of  Christianity,  3,  335.     Zockler,  Hieronymus,  Sein 
Lehen  und  Wirken,  305. 
^°  Contra  Vigilantium,  6. 


HIERONYMUS  93 

the  emperors  and  bishops  who  have  preserved  these  reUcs 
not  only  sacrilegious  but  also  fools?  The  phrase  "vilissimus 
pulvis"  is  frequently  used  in  ironical  deference  to  Vigilantius' 
views  on  the  subject  of  the  ashes  of  dead  martyrs;  and  such 
epithets  as  "canis  vivens,"^^  "insanum  capict,''^^  and  "te 
lingua  viperea  et  morsu  saevissimo,"^^  are  common,  with  "/w 
prudentissimus  et  sapientissimus  mortalium^'^"  used  to  mean 
exactly  the  same  thing. 

In  the  treatise  against  Helvidius,  De  perpetua  virghiitate 
Beatae  Mariae  liber,  Hieronymus  compares  Helvidius  with 
the  man  who  sought  to  immortalize  himself  by  putting  the 
torch  to  the  temple  of  Diana  at  Ephesus: 

"  Quis,  te  oro,  ante  hanc  blasphemiam  noverat,  quis  du- 
pondii  supputabat?  Consecutus  es  quod  volebas,  nobilis  es 
factus  in  scelere.  Ego  ipse  qui  contra  te  scribo,  cum  in  eadem 
tecum  urbe  consistam,  albus,  ut  aiunt,  aterve  sis,  nescio."^'^ 

Another  opponent,  Jovinian,  one  of  the  "premature  Pro- 
testants" who  ventured  to  object  to  celibacy  of  the  clergy 
and  other  similar  tenets  of  the  Church,  calls  down  on  his  own 
head  and  those  of  his  adherents  the  merciless  abuse  of  Hierony- 
mus. His  build  and  complexion  are  against  him,  for  he  is  a 
''formosus  monachus,  crassus,  nitidus,  dealbatus,"  one  who 
delights  in  white  garments  and  a  shining  skin  and  complicated 
dishes, — it  is  quite  obvious  that  he  prefers  his  belly  to  Christ.^*^ 
His  friends  are  dogs,  pigs,  and  other  animals. 

"  Quoscumque  formosos,  quoscumque  calamistratos,  quos 
crine  composito,  quos  rubentibus  buccis  videro,  de  tuo  ar- 
mento  sunt,  immo  inter  tuos  sues  grunniunt.  .  .  .  Et  pro 
magna  sapientia  deputas,   si   plures   porci   post   te  currant, 

'1  Chapter  6. 

^2  Chapter  5. 

^3  Chapter  15. 

^*  Chapter  11. 

^^  Adversus  Helvidium  16;  d.  CatuWus  g:^. 

^^  Adversus  lovinianum,  1,40. 


94      LATIN   SATIRICAL  WRITING  SUBSEQUENT  TO  JUVENAL 

quos  gehennae  succidiae  nutrias?  .  .  .  Habes  praeterea 
in  exercitu  plures  succenturiatos,  habes  scurras  et  velites  in 
praesidiis,  crassos,  comptos,  nitidos,  clamatores,  qui  te  pugnis 
calcibusque  defendant.  Tibi  cedunt  de  via  nobiles,  tibi 
osculantur  divites  caput.  Nisi  enim  tu  venisses,  ebrii  atque 
ructantes  paradisum  intrare  non  poterant."^' 

Hieronymus'  books  against  Rufinus  are  "full  of  ferocious 
attacks  and  unsparing  mockery";^*  they  abound  in  cutting 
irony  and  personalities,  for  the  strife  between  these  former 
good  friends  was  characterized  by  great  acerbity  on  both 
sides.^^     An  example: 

"  O  triremem  locupletissimam,  quae  Orientalibus  et  Aegyptiis 
mercibus  Romanae  urbis  ditare  venerat  paupertatem! 

Tu  Maximus  ille  es 
Unus  qui  nobis  scribendo  restituis  rem. 

Ergo  nisi  de  Oriente  venisses,  eruditissimus  vir  haereret  adhuc 
inter  mathematicos,  et  omnes  Christiani  quid  contra  fatum 
dicerent,  ignorarent.  Merito  a  me  quaeris  de  astrologia, 
et  coeli  ac  siderum  cursu  qui  tantarum  mercium  plenam  navem 
detulisti.  Fateor  paupertatem,  non  sum  ita  ut  tu  in  Oriente 
ditatus.  Te  multo  tempore  Pharus  docuit,  quod  Roma  nes- 
civit;  instruxit  Aegyptus  quod  Italia  hucusque  non  habuit."^" 

In  another  place  he  charges  Rufinus  with  dishonesty  and 
mocks  at  his  personal  appearance  and  characteristics.  With 
gait  like  a  tortoise  and  sobbing  voice  he  advances  to  con- 
ferences with  his  pupils.  Putting  on  an  air  of  the  profoundest 
learning,  he  utters  the  veriest  trifles,  and  arrogates  to  himself 
the  position  of  a  Longinus.  A  Nero  posing  as  a  Cato,  he  is 
equal  to  the  fabulous  Chimaera  of  mythology: 

"  Testitudineo  Grunnius  incedebat  ad  loquendum  gradu,  et 

per  intervalla  quaedam,  vix  pauca  verba  carpebat,  ut  eum 

"  Adversus  lovinianum,  2,  36-37. 

^*  Zockler,  Hieronymus,  Sein  Lehen  und  Wirken,  259. 

^^  Schanz,  Ceschichte,  IV,  i,  433. 

*°  Adversus  Rufinum,  3,  29. 


HIERONYMUS  95 

putares  singultire,  non  proloqui.  Et  tamen  cum  mensa  posita, 
librorum  exposuisset  struem,  adducto  supercilio,  contractisque 
naribus,  ac  fronte  rugata,  duobus  digituHs  concrepabat, 
hoc  signo  ad  audiendum  discipulos  provocans.  Turn  nugas 
meras  fundere,  et  adversum  singulos  declamare;  criticum 
diceres  esse  Longinum,  censoremque  Romanae  facundiae, 
notare  quern  vellet,  et  de  senatu  doctorum  excludere.  Hie 
bene  nummatus,  plus  placebat  in  prandiis.  Nee  mirum, 
si  qui  multos  inescare  solitus  erat,  facto  cuneo  cireumstrepen- 
tium  garrulorum,  procedebat  in  publicum:  intus  Nero,  foris 
Cato.  Totus  ambiguus,  ut  ex  contrariis  diversisque  naturis, 
unum  monstrum  novamque  bestiam  diceres  esse  compactam, 
iuxta  illud  poeticum. 

Prima  leo,  postrema  draco,  media  ipsa  chimaera."" 

In  combating  with  all  the  strength  and  vigor  of  his  ascet- 
icism the  strong  tendency  within  the  Church  away  from  the 
ideal  of  a  celibate  priesthood  and  celibacy  in  general,  Hierony- 
mus  was  wont  to  assume  the  aggressive  and  draw  satirical 
pictures  of  the  married  state/^  So  in  his  book  against  Hel- 
vidius  he  asks  sarcastically  how  a  married  woman  can  find 
time  for  religious  duties  in  the  midst  of  the  turmoil  of  a  house- 
hold. Babies  are  crying,  the  servants  are  noisy,  accounts 
have  to  be  figured  up,  and  meanwhile  her  husband  sends  word 
he  is  bringing  friends  home  to  dinner.  The  wife  must  fly 
hither  and  thither  like  a  swallow,  to  see  if  the  dinner  is  pre- 
paring, the  dishes  clean,  the  floor  swept, — where  is  there  an 
opportunity  for  pious  meditation  and  prayer  in  such  a  house- 
hold? 

"  Idem  tu  putes  esse  diebus  et  noctibus  vacare  orationi, 
vacare  ieiuniis;  et  ad  adventum  mariti  expolire  faciem,  gras- 
sum  frangere,  simulare  blanditias?  Ilia  hoc  agit  ut  turpior 
appareat,  et  naturae  bonum  infuscet  iniuria.     Haec  ad  specu- 

^  Lucretius,  5,  905.  Hieronymus,  Epistle  125,  10;  cf.  Thierry,  St. 
Jerome,  2,  41-5. 

*2  Thierry,  St.  Jerome,  1 ,  1 79  ff . 


96      LATIN   SATIRICAL  WRITING   SUBSEQUENT  TO  JUVENAL 

lum  pingitur,  et  in  contumeliam  artificis  conatur  pulchrior 
esse  quam  nata  est.^^ 

"  Inde  infantes  garriunt,  familia  perstrepit,  liberi  ab  osculis  et 
ab  ore  dependent,  computantur  sumptus,  impendia  prae- 
parantur.  Hinc  cocorum  accincta  manus  carnes  terit,  hinc 
textricum  turba  commurmurat;  nuntiatur  interim  vir  venisse 
cum  sociis.  Ilia  ad  hirundinis  modum  lustrat  universa 
penetralia,  si  torus  rigeat,  si  pavimenta  verrerint,  si  ornata 
sunt  pocula,  si  prandium  praeparatum.  Responde,  quaeso, 
inter  istaubi  sit  Dei  cogitatio?  Ethaefelicesdomus?  Ceterum 
ubi  tympana  sonant,  tibia  clamitat,  lyra  garrit,  cymbalum 
concrepat,  quis  ibi  Dei  timor?  Parasitus  in  contumelia 
gloriatur;  ingrediuntur  expositae  libidinum  victimae,  et 
tenuitate  vestium  nudae  impudicis  oculis  ingeruntur.  His 
infelix  uxor,  aut  laetatur  et  perit;  aut  offenditur,  et  maritusin 
iurgia  concitatur.  Hinc  discordia,  seminarium  repudii.  Aut 
si  aliqua  invenitur  domus  in  qua  ista  non  fiunt,  quae  rara 
avis  est;  tamen  ipsa  dispensatio  domus,  liberorum  educatio, 
necessitas  mariti,  correctio  servulorum,  quam  a  Dei  cogitate 
non  avocent?  "•^* 

The  tone  of  satire  which  underlies  this  description  is  clear. 
The  author  presents  a  picture  which  is  partial  and  onesided, 
for  the  purpose  of  emphasizing  and  deriding  certain  phases 
of  married  life,  as  if  other  phases  equally  real  did  not  exist 
at  all. 

In  the  first  book  against  Jovinian,  Hieronymus  quotes  a 
■passage  from  Theophrastus'  ^' De  nuptiis,''^^  which  is  of  a 
decidedly  satirical  nature.  No  wise  man  ever  marries,  for 
wives  are  a  nuisance.    They  prevent  their  husbands  from 

*'  Cf .  Prudentius,  Hamartigenia,  264  ff. : 

Nee  enim  contenta  decore 

Ingenlto  externam  mentitur  femina  formam. 

Ac  velut  artificis  Domini  manus  inperfectum 

Os  dederit,  etc. 
**  Adversus  Helvidium,  20. 
*^  Perhaps  derived  from  Seneca,  cf.  Adversus  lovinianum,  i,  49. 


HIERONYMUS  97 

Studying.  They  have  expensive  tastes.  They  are  jealous. 
Their  true  character  never  appears  till  after  marriage,  whereas 
anything  else,  from  cattle  to  earthenware,  can  be  examined 
thoroughly  before  taking.  They  demand  constant  adulation 
and  indulgence.  If  one  submits  the  control  of  his  affairs 
to  his  wife,  she  is  a  tyrant;  if  not,  she  complains  of  being 
distrusted.  Beautiful,  she  attracts  lovers;  ugly,  she  repels 
her  husband.  A  faithful  slave  makes  a  better  housekeeper, 
for  he  will  obey  orders,  while  a  wife  does  as  she  pleases,  not 
as  she  is  bidden.  She  must  have  constant  attention  and  care. 
Further,  she  is  needless  as  a  companion,  for  the  wise  man  is 
never  lonely.  To  marry  for  the  sake  of  children  is  foolishness: 
the  wise  man  cares  nothing  about  the  continuance  of  his  name; 
as  a  support  in  old  age  children  are  uncertain,  for  they  may  die 
young  or  grow  up  wicked ;  it  is  much  more  satisfactory  to  take 
for  one's  heir  a  friend  whom  one  can  choose  or  discard,  as  one 
cannot   children. 

The  fact  has  been  pointed  out  by  Reich*"'  that  this  passage 
is  really  malapropos,  for  Hieronymus  is  arguing  in  favor  of 
women  remaining  single,  while  Theophrastus  was  seeking  to 
show,  by  depicting  the  faults  and  failings  of  the  female  sex, 
that  no  wise  man  would  marry.  This  curious  "misfit"  well 
illustrates  one  side  of  our  author's  temperament.  We  may 
say,  with  Reich,  that  he  was  so  fond  of  such  material  descrip- 
tive of  life  and  manners  that  he  would  use  it  even  when  it  only 
partially  suited  his  purpose.  Forgetting  for  the  moment  his 
previous  point  of  view,  Hieronymus  continues  somewhat  in 
the  same  tone  as  Theophrastus,  with  various  historical  ex- 
amples of  unhappy  marriages,  and  adds  the  satirical  reflection 
that  most  of  the  troubles  of  mankind  can  be  traced  ultimately 
to  woman  as  a  source;  hence,  as  marriage  can  only  be  tested 
by  its  outcome,  a  wise  man  should  avoid  it  altogether,  to  be 
on  the  safe  side.^'' 

^^  Der  Mimus,  i,  756. 

^''  Adv.  lovmiammi,  i,  48. 


98      LATIN   SATIRICAL  WRITING  SUBSEQUENT  TO  JUVENAL 

Reich  points  out  in  much  detail  the  many  references  by 
Hieronymus  to  mimes  and  players,  and  the  close  connection 
between  some  of  his  descriptions  and  certain  types  in  the 
contemporary  mimes  and  comedies.^^  There  is  no  doubt  a 
great  deal  of  truth  in  this.  It  is  hardly  likely  that  in  all  his 
satirical  passages  Hieronymus  had  some  definite  person  in 
mind,  but  rather  that  he  was  making  a  kind  of  composite 
photograph,  drawing  material  from  more  than  one  source. 
And  hence  it  is  entirely  natural  that  he  should  have  been 
influenced  by  popular  comic  portrayals  of  types,  that  even  in 
the  description  of  the  "clerical  coxcomb"  in  the  letter  to 
Eustochium  there  should  be  a  reminiscence  of  a  mimic  type;^^ 
but  there  must  have  been  a  groundwork  of  fact  and  real 
personality  behind  these  descriptions.  Other  evidence  points 
this  way^";  and  on  no  other  supposition  can  we  base  an  ade- 
quate explanation  of  the  extreme  personal  hostility  with 
which  Hieronymus  was  regarded  by  so  many  of  the  contem- 
porary churchmen. 

Hieronymus,  in  short,  was  a  satirist  of  ability.  Abundant 
proof  that  he  read  and  enjoyed  the  classical  satirists  is  afforded 
by  the  numerous  quotations  from  and  references  to  these 
writers,  especially  Horace  and  Persius.^^  He  realized  the 
fact  that  in  temperament  and  subject-matter  and  style  of 
treatment  there  was  between  him  and  the  elder  satirists  no 
small  degree  of  kinship.  He  thus  classes  himself  with  Juvenal 
and  Horace^2; 

Possum  remordere,  si  velim,  possum  genuinum  laesus  in- 

figere^^;  et  nos  didicimiis  litterulas. 

Et  nos  saepe  manum  Jerulae  subtraximus,^* 

*^  Der  Mimus,  i,  747  ff.,  763. 
*^  Reich,  Der  Mimus,  i,  764-5. 

^°  See  references  to  Ammianus  Marcellinus  and  Sulpicius  Severus; 
above,  p.  82  f. 

"  Liibeck,  Hieronymus  quos  noverit  scriptores,  160-7;  I93I  195-9- 

^2  Epistle  50,  5. 

^'  Cf.  Persius,  i,  115. 

"Juvenal,  i,  15. 


HIERONYMUS  99 

de  nobis  quogiie  did  potest 

Faenum  habet  in  cornu,  longc  fuge,^^ 

But  yet  he  did  not  wish  to  be  called  a  satirist,  or  that  his 
strictures  against  vice  should  be  classed  as  satire.  The 
reason  which  he  gives  for  this  is  the  strangely  inadequate 
reason  that  he  does  not  mention  names.^^  This,  he  main- 
tains, is  sufficient  to  prevent  his  most  personal  and  detailed 
attacks  from  being  satire.  In  Epistle  22,  32  he  says:  "  Vidi 
nuper — nonien  taceo,  ne  saturam  putes — nobilissimam  mulierum 
Romanarum  in  basilica  Beati  Petri,'"  etc.  The  only  logical 
inference  to  be  drawn  from  "nomen  taceo,  ne  saturam  putes" 
is  that  the  use  of  the  woman's  name  would,  to  his  mind,  have 
caused  him  to  be  satirizing  her,  which,  as  it  was,  he  avoided 
doing.  In  Epistle  40,  2,  he  says:  " Dico  quosdam  scelere, 
periurio,  falsitate,  ad  dignitatem  nescio  quam  pervenisse.  .  .  . 
Quicquid  dictum  fuerit,  in  te  dictum  putas.  In  quodcumque 
vitium  stili  mei  miicro  contorquetur,  te  clamitas  designari, 
conserta  manu  in  ins  vocas  et  satiricum  scriptorem  in  prosa 
stulte  argtiis."  Vallarsi's  note  on  this,  viz.,  that  to  say  "he 
writes  prose  satires"  would  be  as  absurd  as  to  say  "he 
writes  prose  sonnets,"  because  the  satire  must  be  in  verse, 
seems  to  me  clearly  to  miss  the  point  of  the  passage.  It  is 
not  the  fact  that  he  writes  in  prose  that  makes  it  seem  foolish 
to  Hieronymus  for  anyone  to  call  him  a  "satiricum  scriptorem,'' 

^^  Horace,  Sermones,  I,  4,  34. 

^^  The  use  of  personal  names  by  a  satirist  may  be  due  to  either  one  of 
two  motives.  Most  obvious,  of  course,  is  the  definite  intention  of  satirizing 
the  given  person.  But  this  demands  a  considerable  degree  of  security 
for  the  satirist  against  the  resentment  of  the  person  satirized.  Lucilius 
dared  to  attack  living  men;  Juvenal  did  not.  Juvenal,  i,  153  ff.  Then 
again,  the  use  of  names  may  serve  merely  to  give  added  vividness  and 
concreteness  to  the  thought.  The  names  may  be  real,  or  disguised,  or 
purely  invented,  like  our  "Mr.  Gotrox,"  "The  Newlyweds,"  etc.  There 
seem  in  fact  to  have  been  some  stock  names  favored  by  satirists,  as  "No- 
mentanus,"  for  a  spendthrift,  "Novius,"  for  an  upstart,  etc.  See  Wick- 
ham's  Horace,  Vol.  2,  pp.  9  ff.  See  also  below,  p.  123-4.  It  seems  to  be 
the  idea  of  Hieronymus  that  this  use  of  names  is  actually  an  essential 
characteristic  of  satire,  as  such. 


lOO      LATIN   SATIRICAL  WRITING   SUBSEQUENT  TO  JUVENAL 

but  the  fact  that  he  does  not  call  anyone  by  name.  "  Quidam," 
he  says,  "ad  dignitatem  nescio  guam  pervenerunt,"  and  the 
emphasis  is  on  the  indefiniteness  of  the  pronouns.  Again,  at 
the  end  of  Epistle  52,  he  pleads  against  a  harsh  and  unjust 
contemporary  opinion  of  himself: 

"Non  enim  ut  adversarii,  sed  ut  amici  scripsimus,  nee 
invecti  sumus  in  eos,  qui  peccant,  sed,  ne  peccent,  monuimus. 
Neque  in  illos  tantum,  sed  et  in  nos  ipsos  severi  iudices  fuimus, 
volentesque  festucam  de  oculo  alterius  tollere  nostram  prius 
trabem  eiecimus.  Nullum  laesi,  nullus  saltim  descriptione 
signatus  est,  neminem  specialiter  meus  sermo  pulsavit: 
generalis  de  vitiis  disputatio  est.  Qui  mihi  irasci  voluerit, 
prius  ipse  de  se,  quod  talis  sit,  confitetur."" 

But  we  have  seen  that,  in  his  controversial  writings,  Hier- 
onymus  does  not  hesitate  to  name  the  objects  of  his  attacks; 
and  as  for  the  rest,  who  would  dream  of  saying  that  Horace's 
famous  ninth  satire  is  any  less  a  satire  because  the  bore's 
name  is  left  out? 

*''  Cf.  Horace,  Sermones,  I,  4,  65-70. 


CLAUDIAN 

Claudius  Claudianus,  a  poet  of  classical  caliber  in  post- 
classical  times,  or  "the  posthumous  child  of  the  classical 
world,"  as  Mackail  calls  him,i  was  the  most  important  literary 
figure  of  his  age.  He  was  an  Alexandrian  by  birth,  and  was 
born  about  374  a.  d.^  He  wrote  in  Greek  in  his  early  years; 
and  the  high  degree  of  excellence  which  he  attained  in  Latin 
is  the  all  more  remarkable  because  it  was  not  his  native 
tongue.  He  came  to  Rome  about  394  or  395  and  attached 
himself  to  wealthy  and  influential  patrons.  His  first  Latin 
poem  of  which  we  have  knowledge  was  a  panegyric  on  Probi- 
nus  and  Olybrius,  consuls  in  395.  The  excellence  of  his  work 
makes  it  probable  indeed  that  he  had  written  Latin  poetry 
before  this  occasion,  but  this  was  the  first  to  be  published.^ 
He  soon  became  a  follower  of  Stilicho,  the  powerful  and  able 
minister  of  the  western  Emperor  Honorius,  and  remained 
consistently  loyal  to  him.  Praise  of  Stilicho  is  the  underlying 
theme  of  almost  all  his  important  poems.  He  occupied 
what  amounted  to  a  position  of  Poet  Laureate  at  the  imperial 
court,  and  in  spite  of  his  partisanship  in  favor  of  Stilicho,  his 
poems  are  of  considerable  value  in  the  reconstruction  of  the 
history  of  the.  period.^  The  date  of  Claudian's  death  is  un- 
known ;  but  the  absence  of  any  work  dating  later  than  about 
404  is  best  explained  on  the  supposition  that  that  year  was 
his  last.^  He  was  then  still  a  young  man,  aged  barely  thirty 
years,  and  yet  ranks  among  the  greatest  of  Roman  poets. 

^  Latin  Literature,  267. 

-  Birt,  Prolegomena  to  his  edition  of  the  text,  pp.  iii,  xii. 
^Vollmer   in   Pauly-Wissowa's   Realencydopddie,   3,    2652;    Birt,    Pro- 
legomena, viii;  Claudian,  Carmina  minora,  41,  13  ff. 

^  J.  H.  E.  Crees,  Claudian  as  an  historical  authority,  183  ff. 
^  Birt,  Prolegomena,  Ix. 

loi 


102      LATIN   SATIRICAL  WRITING   SUBSEQUENT  TO  JUVENAL 

There  are  two  of  the  major  works  of  Claudian  which  will 
prove  of  special  interest  to  students  of  satire  in  post-classical 
Latin.  These  are  the  poems  bearing  the  titles  In  Rufinum 
and  In  Eutropium.  Rufinus  and  Eutropius  were  successive 
ministers  of  the  eastern  Emperor  Arcadius,  and  thereby 
rivals  of  Stilicho  in  world-politics.  Hence  they  were  naturally 
subjects  for  the  invective  of  Stilicho's  client  Claudian;  and 
both  seem  to  have  been  of  a  character  peculiarly  fitting  them 
for  satirical  treatment.  Rufinus  was  an  unscrupulous  tyrant, 
and  Eutropius  a  corrupt  and  ignoble  politician.^ 

The  first  of  the  two  books  against  Rufinus  begins  with  a 
truly  magnificent  and  lofty  exordium  which  has  a  vein  of  very 
powerful  satire  running  through  it.  The  poet  has  been  troubled 
with  doubts  of  the  existence  of  a  divine  government  of  the 
universe  as  opposed  to  blind  chance.  Natural  phenomena 
and  natural  laws  seemed  to  testify  that  such  a  government 
existed:  the  darkness  of  human  affairs  and  triumph  of  the 
wicked  had  shaken  this  conviction.  But  at  last  all  doubts 
are  set  at  rest.  The  overthrow  of  Rufinus  proves  beyond 
shadow  of  question  that  the  gods  are  both  righteous  and  power- 
ful. It  is  well  that  the  unjust  should  sometimes  be  raised  to 
high  power,  that  their  fall  may  be  more  impressive  and 
terrible.''  Thus  Claudian  magnifies  the  personality,  the  evil 
personality,  of  Rufinus,  to  a  point  where  he  seems  almost 
more  than  human,  a  being  whose  menacing  shadow  has 
darkened  the  world,  whose  "bad  eminence"  entitles  him  to 
be  named  in  connection  with  primal,  cosmic  forces.  By  this 
means  the  poet  creates  the  desired  impression  at  the  very 
outset,  and  leaves  his  readers  prepared  to  hear  the  worst 
possible  things  about  Rufinus. 

Saepe  mihi  dubiam  traxit  sententia  mentem, 

Curarent  superi  terras  an  nullus  inesset 

Rector  et  incerto  fluerent  mortalia  casu. 
^  Gibbon,  History  of  the  Decline  and  Fall  of  the  Roman  Empire,  3,  217, 
360  flf. 

^  Cf.  Horace,  Carmina,  II,  10,  9  ff.     Juvenal,  10,  106. 


CLAUDIAN  103 

Nam  cum  dispositi  quaesissem  foedera  mundi 
5  Praescriptosque  mari  fines  annisque  meatus  , 

Et  lucis  noctisque  vices:  tunc  omnia  rebar 

Consilio  firmata  dei,  qui  lege  moveri 

Sidera,  qui  fruges  diverso  tempore  nasci, 

Qui  variam  Phoeben  alieno  iusserit  igni 
10  Compleri  Solemque  suo,  porrexerit  undis 

Litora,  tellurem  medio  libraverit  axe. 

Sed  cum  res  hominum  tanta  caligine  volvi 

Aspicerem  laetosque  diu  florere  nocentes 

Vexarique  pios,  rursus  labefacta  cadebat 
15  Relligio  causaeque  viam  non  sponte  sequebar 

Alterius,  vacuo  quae  currere  semina  motu 

Affirmat  magnumque  novas  per  inane  figuras 

Fortuna,  non  arte  regi,  quae  numina  sensu 

Ambiguo  vel  nulla  putat  vel  nescia  nostri. 
20  Abstulit  hunc  tandem  Rufini  poena  tumultum 

Absolvitque  deos.     lam  non  ad  culmina  rerum 

Iniustos  crevisse  queror;  tolluntur  in  altum, 

Ut  lapsu  graviore  ruant. 

In  a  high  epic  style,  which  serves  to  render  the  object  of 
his  satire  only  the  more  important,  the  poet  narrates  to  us  how 
the  infernal  powers,  maliciously  desiring  to  do  harm  to  man- 
kind, deliberated  in  council,  and  finally  decided  to  send 
Rufinus,  a  monster  of  vice,  to  bring  woe  upon  the  nations. 
Megaera,  most  terrible  of  the  Furies,  thus  describes  his  char- 
acter, even  confessing  herself  outdone  in  wickedness: 

Est  mihi  prodigium  cunctis  immanius  hydris, 

90  Tigride  mobilius  feta,  violentius  Austris 

Acribus,  Euripi  fulvis  incertius  undis 
Rufinus,  quem  prima  meo  de  matre  cadentem 
Suscepi  gremio.     Parvus  reptavit  in  isto 
Saepe  sinu  teneroque  per  ardua  coUa  volutus 

95  libera  quaesivit  fletu  linguisque  trisulcis 

MoUia  lambentes  finxe'runt  membra  cerastae. 
Meque  etiam  tradente  dolos  artesque  nocendi 
Edidicit:  simulare  fidem  sensusque  minaces 
Protegere  et  blando  fraudem  praetexere  risu, 

100  Plenus  saevitiae  lucrique  cupidine  fervens. 

Non  Tartesiacis  ilium  satiaret  harenis 
Tempestas  pretiosa  Tagi,  non  stagna  rubentis 
Aurea  Pactoli;  totumque  exhauserit  Hermum: 
Ardebit  maiore  siti.     Quam  fallere  mentes 
8 


104  LATIN   SATIRICAL  WRITING   SUBSEQUENT   TO  JUVENAL 

105  Doctus  et  unanimos  odiis  turbare  sodales! 
Talum  progenies  hominum  si  prisca  tulisset, 
Perithoum  fugeret  Theseus,  offensus  Orestem 
Desereret  Pylades,  odisset  Castora  Pollux. 
Ipsa  quidem  fateor  vinci  rapidoque  magistram 

1 10  Praevenit  ingenio;  nee  plus  sermone  morabor: 

Solus  habet  scelerum  quidquid  possedimus  omnes. 
Hunc  ego,  si  vestrae  res  est  accommoda  turbae, 
Regalem  ad  summi  producam  principis  aulam. 
Sit  licet  ipse  Numa  gravior,  sit  denique  Minos, ' 

115  Cedet  et  insidiis  nostri  flectetur  alumni. 

So  the  Fury  visits  Rufinus  in  his  humble  home  and  urges 
him  to  action,  holding  glittering  promises  of  great  power 
before  him,  and  he  starts  on  his  evil  career,  A  long  and  keenly 
satirical  description  of  his  rise  to  power,  and  of  his  crimes 
and   excesses,    follows. 

His  avarice  was  so  great  that  it  was  insatiable,  just  as  the 
sea  remains  at  a  level  in  spite  of  the  vast  rivers  which  pour 
into  it.  Wealth  was  a  mere  invitation  to  come  and  plunder: 
a  fertile  field  spelled  destruction  for  its  owner. 

Cuicumque  monile 

Contextum  gemmis  aut  praedia  culta  fuissent, 

Rufino  populandus  erat,  dominoque  parabat 
190  Exitium  fecundus  ager;  metuenda  colonis 

Fertilitas:  Laribus  pellit,  detrudit  avitis 

Finibus;  aut  aufert  vivis  aut  occupat  heres. 

Congestae  cumulantur  opes  orbisque  ruinas 

Accipit  una  domus;  populi  servire  coacti 
195  Plenaque  private  succumbunt  oppida  regno. 

Quo  vesane  ruis?     Teneas  utrumque  licebit 

Oceanum,  laxet  rutilos  tibi  Lydia  fontes, 

lungatur  solium  Croesi  Cyrique  tiara: 

Numquam  dives  eris,  numquam  satiabere  quaestu. 
200  Semper  inops  quicumque  cupit.^ 

Far  better  the  simplicity  of  the  ancients  than  the  excessive 

luxury  of  Rufinus: 

215  Vivitur  exiguo  melius;  natura  beatis 

Omnibus  esse  dedit,  si  quis  cognoverit  uti. 
Haec  si  nota  forent,  frueremur  simplice  cultu, 
Classica  non  gemerent,  non  stridula  fraxinus  iret, 
Non  ventus  quateret  puppes,  non  machina  muros. 

*  Cf.  above;  pp.  46  n.,  77  n. 


CLAUDIAN  105 

He  was  vindictive,  savage,  inflexible.  In  a  blaze  of  indig- 
nant denunciation  Claudian  portrays  him  as  worse  than  the 
proverbial  types  of  cruelty: 

Si  semel  e  tantis  poscenti  quisque  negasset, 
225  Effera  praetumido  quatiebat  corda  furore. 

Quae  sic  Gaetuli  iaculo  percussa  leaena 

Aut  Hyrcana  premens  raptorem  bclua  partus 

Aut  serpens  calcata  furit?     lurata  deorum 

Maiestas  teritur;  nusquam  revercntia  mensae. 
230  Non  coniunx,  non  ipse,  simul  non  pignora  caesi 

Sufficiunt  odiis;  non  extinxisse  propinquos, 

Non  notos  egisse  sat  est;  excindere  cives 

Funditus  et  nomen  gentis  delcre  laborat. 

Nee  ccleri  pcrimit  Icto;  crudelibus  ante 
235  Suppliciis  fruitur;  cruciatus,  vincla,  tenebras 

Dilato  mucrone  parat. 


245  Non  flectitur  annis, 

Non  aetate  labat:  iuvenum  rorantia  colla 

Ante  patrum  vultus  striata  cecidere  secuti; 

Ibat  grandaevus  nato  moriente  superstes 

Post  trabeas  exul.     Quis  prodere  tanta  relatu 
250  Funera,  quis  caedes  possit  deflere  nefandas? 

Quid  tale  immanes  umquam  gessisse  feruntur 

Vel  Sinis  Isthmiaca  pinu  vel  rupe  profunda 

Sciron  vel  Phalaris  tauro  vel  carcere  Sulla? 

O  mites  Diomedis  equi!     Busiridis  arae 
255  Clementes!     lam  Cinna  pius,  iam  Spartace  segnis 

Rufino  collatus  eris! 

To  contrast  with  this,  Stilicho  is  praised, — the  saviour  of 
Rome,  as  noble  as  Rufinus  is  base;  and  the  book  closes  with 
the  rumblings  of  the  coming  conflict. 

Meanwhile  (Book  2),  the  East  itself  is  invaded  by  barbarians 
from  across  the  frozen  Danube.  Desolation  marks  their  path 
as  they  approach  Constantinople.  From  within  Rufinus 
rejoices,  with  pure  love  of  evil,  at  their  devastation,  and  is 
grieved  only  that  he  himself  is  not  the  agent  of  death. 

Obsessa  tamen  ille  ferus  laetatur  in  urbe 
Exsultatque  malis  summaeque  ex  culmine  turris 
Impia  vicini  cernit  spectacula  campi: 
Vinctas  ire  nurus,  hunc  in  vada  proxima  mergi 


I06      LATIN   SATIRICAL  WRITING   SUBSEQUENT   TO  JUVENAL 

65  Seminecem,  hunc  subito  percussum  vulnere  labi 

Dum  fugit,  hunc  animam  portis  efflare  sub  ipsis: 

Nee  canos  prodesse  seni  puerique  cruore 

Maternos  undare  sinus.     Inmensa  voluptas 

Et  risus  plerumque  subit;  dolor  afficit  unus, 
70  Quod  feriat  non  ipse  manu. 

And  now  Stilicho,  leading  a  host  like  that  of  Xerxes,  drawn 
from  both  West  and  East,  draws  near.  Rufinus  is  terrified, 
and  as  a  last  resort  artfully  prevails  on  his  master  Arcadius 
to  bid  Stilicho  withdraw.  Though  astounded  and  mortified, 
Stilicho  obeys;  but  the  eastern  legions,  now  ordered  to  Con- 
stantinople, remain  intensely  loyal  to  him,  and  with  one  mind 
plot  vengeance  on  Rufinus. 

"Now  Claudian  with  powerful  irony  shows  us  Rufinus 
triumphant,  exulting  with  his  satellites,  and  on  the  eve  of  his 
murder  dreaming  of  winning  the  purple."^  It  is  a  most 
dramatic  scene  where  the  ambitious  man,  ignorant  of  his 
impending  fate,  is  surrounded  by  armed  foes  at  the  very 
moment  when  he  stretches  out  his  hand  for  the  imperial  power. 

380  Cingi  se  fervidus  ille 

Nescit  adhuc  graviterque  adprensa  veste  morantem 
Increpat  Augustum:  scandat  sublime  tribunal, 
Participem  sceptri,  socium  declaret  honoris — 
Cum  subito  stringunt  gladios;  vox  desuper  ingens 

385  Infremuit:  "Nobis  etiam,  deterrime,  nobis 

Sperasti  famulas  imponere  posse  catenas? 
Unde  redi  nescis?     Patiarne  audire  satelles, 
Qui  leges  aliis  libertatemque  reduxi? 
Bis  domitum  civile  nefas,  bis  rupimus  Alpes. 

390  Tot  nos  bella  docent  nulli  servire  tyranno." 

Then  Rufinus  is  slain  and  torn  to  pieces  by  the  soldiery, — 
all  of  which  is  depicted  "with  the  savage  coolness  of  an  anato- 
mist."io 

The  poem  ends  in  a  manner  worthy  of  its  beginning.     Just 

as  we  saw  the  council  of  evil  deities  which  set  in  motion 

Rufinus'  career,  so  we  follow  his  soul  down  into  the  lower 

^  Crees,  Claudian  as  an  historical  authority,  66. 

"  Gibbon,  History  of  the  Decline  and  Fall,  3,  229  note. 


CLAUDIAN  107 

world.  The  souls  of  those  who  had  suffered  beneath  his 
oppression  drag  him  before  the  judgment  seat  of  Rhadaman- 
thus,  who  thus  addresses  him  "visu  severo:" 

Hue  superum  labes,  hue  insatiabilis  auri 

Proluvies  pretioque  nihil  non  ause  parato, 
500  Quodque  mihi  summum  scelus  est,  hue  improbe  legum 

Venditor,  Aretoi  stimulator  perfide  Martis! 

Cuius  ob  innumeras  strages  angustus  Averni 

lam  sinus  et  plena  lassatur  portitor  alno. 

Quid  demens  manifesta  negas?     En  peetus  inustae 
505  Deformant  maeulae  vitiisque  inolevit  imago 

Nee  sese  commissa  tegunt.     Genus  omne  dolorum 

In  te  ferre  libct:  dubio  tibi  pendula  rupes 

Inmineat  lapsu,  volueer  te  torqueat  axis. 

Te  refugi  fallant  latices  atque  ore  natanti 
510  Arescat  decepta  sitis  dapibusque  relictis 

In  tua  mansurus  migret  praecordia  vultur. 

Quamquam  omnes  alii,  quos  haec  tormenta  fatigant, 

Pars  quota  sunt,  Rufine,  tui!     Quid  tale  vel  audax 

Fulmine  Salmoneus  vel  lingua  Tantalus  egit 
515  Aut  inconsulto  Tytlos  deliquit  amore? 

.  Cunctorum  si  facta  simul  iungantur  in  unum, 

Praecedes  numero.     Cui  tanta  piacula  quisquam 

Supplicio  conferre  valet?     Quid  denique  dignum 

Omnibus  inveniam,  vincant  cum  singula  poenas? 
520  Tollite  de  mediis  animarum  dedecus  umbris. 

Aspexisse  sat  est.     Oculis  iam  parcite  nostris 

Et  Ditis  purgate  domos.     Agitate  flagellis 

Trans  Styga,  trans  Erebum,  vacuo  mandate  barathro 

Infra  Titanum  tenebras  infraque  recessus 
525  Tartareos  nostrumque  Chaos,  qua  noctis  opacae 

Fundamenta  latent;  praeceps  ibi  mersus  anhelet, 

Dum  rotat  astra  polus,  feriunt  dum  litora  venti. 

The  In  Rufinum  is  thus  seen  to  be  a  combination  of  the 
satirical  and  the  epic.  To  satirize  Stilicho's  enemy  is  the 
central  motive  of  the  poem,  and  the  use  of  the  epic  style  and 
epic  paraphernalia  actually  strengthens  and  helps  the  satire. 
The  introduction  of  supernatural  machinery  not  only  raises 
the  theme  above  a  petty  intrigue  and  rivalry  between  two 
imperial  officials:  it  makes  one  conceive  of  Rufinus  as  more 
than  an  ordinary  bad  man,  as  a  monster,  who  is  encouraged 


I08      LATIN   SATIRICAL  WRITING   SUBSEQUENT  TO  JUVENAL 

and  aided  by  the  powers  of  hell,  and  thus  stands  out  in  blacker 
relief  than  otherwise. 

Moreover,  the  narration  of  the  ultimate  fate  after  death  of 
Rufinus  as  part  of  a  satirical  work  gains  in  interest  when  we 
recall  the  treatment  of  such  a  topic  in  earlier  satire.  Seneca's 
Apocolocyntosis  is  devoted  to  nothing  but  such  a  theme;  and, 
although  the  style  of  treatment  is  very  dissimilar,  being  in 
the  one  case  burlesque  and  comical — in  the  other  lofty  and 
serious,  it  remains  true  that  this  part  also  had  its  satirical 
value,  and  forms  a  fitting  climax  to  the  poem  viewed  purely 
from  the  satirical  standpoint. ^^ 

The  fall  of  Rufinus  was  followed  by  the  ascendancy  of  the 
eunuch  Eutropius,  who  had,  in  fact,  as  chief  chamberlain, 
measured  himself  with  success  against  Rufinus  in  the  matter  of 
the  Emperor's  marriage.  He  proved  to  be  no  less  venal, 
and  more  contemptible,  than  his  predecessor  had  been,  and 
the  In  Eutropium  of  Claudian  is  a  companion  piece  to  his 
In  Rufinum. 

This  is  really  to  be  divided  into  three  parts,  as  Birt^^ 
points  out,  for  the  Praefatio  to  the  second  book  appears  to  be 
a  later  composition  than  the  second  book  proper,  after  the 
issue  had  been  decided. 

The  keynote  of  this  satire  is  struck  in  the  opening  lines. 

"A  eunuch  consul!"  is  the  ironical  exclamation  of  the  poet. 

^Tis  the  shame  of  earth  and  heaven.     What  new  prodigies 

and  marvels  will  follow  this?     Doubtless  we  shall  next  be 

taking  felons  from  our  prisons  and  elevating  them  to  high 

office. 

Semiferos  partus  metuendaque  pignora  matri 
Moenibus  et  mediis  auditum  nocte  luporum 
Murmur  et  attonito  pecudes  pastore  locutas 
Et  lapidum  duras  hiemes  nimboque  minacem 

^1  One  sees  also  certain  likenesses  to  Juvenal's  tenth  satire,  which 
describes  the  fall  of  Sejanus,  another  imperial  minister.  Cf.  Birt,  Zwei 
politische  Satiren  des  alien  Rom,  60-61. 

12  Zwei  politische  Satiren,  49  ff. 


CLAUDIAN  109 

5  Sanguineo  rubuisse  lovem  puteosque  cruore 

Mutatos  binasque  polo  concurrere  lunas 
Et  geminos  soles  mirari  dcsinat  orbis. 
Omnia  cesserunt  eunucho  consulc  monstra. 
Heu  terrae  caelique  pudor!     Trabeata  per  urbes 

ID  Ostentatur  anus  titulumque  effeminat  anni. 

Pandite  pontifices  Cumanae  carmina  vatis, 
Fulmineos  sellers  Etruria  consulat  ignes 
Inmersumque  nefas  fibris  exploret  haruspex, 
Quae  nova  portendant  superi.     Nilusne  meatu 

15  Devius  et  nostri  temptat  iam  transfuga  mundi 

Se  rubro  miscere  mari?     Ruptone  Niphate 
Rursum  barbaricis  Oriens  vastabitur  armis? 
An  morbi  ventura  lues?     An  nulla  colono 
Responsura  seges?     Quae  tantas  expiet  iras 

20  Victima?     Quo  diras  iugulo  placabimus  aras? 


Sic  omnia  nobis, 
Hoc  regni,  Fortuna,  tenes?  Quaenam  ista  iocandi 
25  Saevitia?     Humanis  quantum  bacchabere  rebus? 

Si  tibi  servili  placuit  foedare  curules 
Crimine,  procedat  laxata  compede  consul, 
Rupta  Quirinales  sumant  ergastula  cinctus; 
Da  saltern  quemcumque  virum. 

If  we  must  be  ruled  by  a  slave,  let  it  be  one  who  has  served 
but  one  master.  The  owners  of  Eutropius  are  as  the  waves 
of  the  sea,  or  the  sands  of  Libya.  He  was  not  worth  keep- 
ing, was  constantly  sold,  and  at  last  even  given  away: 

Omnes  paenituit  pretii  venumque  redibat 
Dum  vendi  potuit.     Postquam  deforme  cadaver 
Mansit  et  in  rugas  totus  defluxit  aniles, 
40  lam  specie  doni  certatim  limine  pellunt 

Et  foedum  ignaris  properant  obtrudere  munus. 

The  base  condition  of  his  early  years  is  depicted.  Claudian 
satirically  puts  into  his  mouth  a  lament  on  being  discarded  by 
his  first  owner,  which  parodies  the  traditional  lament  of  the 
deserted  wife  or  mistress  in  the  erotic  poets  (w.  66  ff.).  Fi- 
nally after  various  unenviable  vicissitudes,  the  future  patri- 
cian and  consul  becomes  the  servant  of  a  great  lady, — to 
comb  her  hair,  to  hold  the  silver  basin,  and  wield  the  fan  of 
peacocks*  feathers. 


no      LATIN   SATIRICAL   WRITING   SUBSEQUENT  TO  JUVENAL 

105  Eous  rector  consulque  futurus 

Pectebat  dominae  crines  et  saepe  lavanti 
Nudus  in  argento  lympham  gestabat  alumnae. 
Et  cum  se  rapido  fessam  proiecerat  aestu 
Patricius  roseis  pavonum  ventilat  alis. 

His  appearance  corresponded  with  his  character:  pre- 
maturely old,  wrinkled,  and  tremulous,  partly  bald,  a  hor- 
rible sight, — too  weak  for  manual  labor,  too  vile  for  positions 
of  trust, — this  is  he  who  became  ruler,  after  being  scorned 
by  very  slaves. 

Est  ubi  despectus  nimius  iuvat.     Undique  pulso 

Per  cunctas  licuit  fraudes  impune  vagari 
140  Et  fatis  aperire  viam.     Pro!  quisquis  Olympi 

Summa  tenes,  tanto  libuit  mortalia  risu 

Vertere?     Qui  servi  non  est  admissus  in  usum, 

Suscipitur  regnis,  et  quern  privata  ministrum 

Dedignata  domus,  moderantem  sustinet  aula. 
145  Ut  primum  vetulam  texere  palatia  vulpem, 

Quis  non  ingemuit?     Quis  non  inrepere  sacris 

Obsequiis  doluit  totius  venale  cadaver? 

Ipsi  quin  etiam  tali  consorte  fremebant 

Regales  famuli,  quibus  est  inlustrior  ordo 
150  Servitii,  sociumque  diu  sprevere  superbi. 

Nothing  is  worse  than  a  base-born  slave  suddenly  become 

powerful,  and  a  eunuch  worst  of  all.     But  though  deprived  of 

manhood,  he  retained  his  vices,  and  chief  was  his  greed  of 

gold.     Honors  and  offices  were  sold  at  regular  prices  by  one 

who  had  been  so  often  sold  himself: 

Asperius  nihil  est  humili  cum  surgit  in  altum: 
Cuncta  ferit  dum  cuncta  timet,  desaevit  in  omnes 
Ut  se  posse  putent,  nee  belua  taetrior  uUa 
Quam  servi  rabies  in  libera  terga  furentis; 
185  Agnoscit  gemitus  et  poenae  parcere  nescit, 

Quam  subiit,  dominique  memor,  quern  verberat,  odit. 
Adde,  quod  eunuchus  nulla  pietate  movetur 
Nee  generi  natisve  cavet.     Clementia  cunctis 
In  similes,  animosque  ligant  consortia  damni; 
190  Iste  nee  eunuchis  placidus.     Sed  peius  in  aurum 

Aestuat;  hoc  uno  fruitur  succisa  libido. 
Quid  nervos  secuisse  iuvat?     Vis  nulla  cruentam 
Castrat  avaritiam.     Parvis  exercita  furtis 
Quae  vastare  penum  neglectaque  sueverat  arcae 


CLAUDIAN  III 

195  Clausa  remoliri,  nunc  ubcriore  rapina 

Peccat  in  orbe  manus.     Quidquid  se  Tigris  ab  Hacmo 
Dividit,  hoc  certa  proponit  merce  locandum 
Institor  imperii,  caupo  famosus  honorum. 
Hie  Asiam  villa  pactus  regit;  ille  redemit 

200  Coniugis  ornatu  Syriam;  dolet  ille  paterna 

Bithynos  mutasse  domo.     Subfixa  patenti 
Vestibule  pretiis  distinguit  regula  gentes. 
Tot  Galatae,  tot  Pontus  eat,  tot  Lydia  nummis; 
Si  Lyciam  tenuisse  velis,  tot  millia  ponas, 

205  Si  Phrygas,  adde;  parum!     Propriae  solacia  sort! 

Communes  vult  esse  notas  et  venditus  ipse 
Vendere  cuncta  cupit.     Certantum  saepe  duorum 
Diversum  suspendit  onus;  cum  pondere  index 
Vergit,  et  in  geminas  nutat  provincia  lances. 

Was  it  for  this,  for  the  profit  of  Eutropius,  that  Roman 
armies  subdued  and  annexed  the  East?  To  the  shame  of 
Mars  and  the  scorn  of  Enyo,  he  dons  arms  and  plays  the  war- 
rior. The  Goths  rejoice,  and  plunder  Greece,  Asia,  and  Syria 
with  impunity,  while  he  returns  in  pretended  triumph,  the 
shameless  hypocrite: 

Placet  ipse  sibi  laxasque  laborat 

Distendisse  genas  fictumque  inflatus  anhelat, 
260  Pulvere  respersus  tineas  it  solibus  ora 

Pallidior,  verbisque  sonat  plorabile  quiddam 

Ultra  nequitiam  fractis  et  proelia  narrat 

Perque  suam  tremula  testatur  voce  sororum; 

Defecisse  vagas  ad  publica  commoda  vires; 
265  Cedere  livori  nee  sustentare  procellas 

Invidiae;  mergique  fretis  spumantibus  orat. 

Exoretque  utinam! 

Never  before  was  a  eunuch  consul,  magistrate,  and  general. 
A  sight  at  once  more  ridiculous  than  comedy,  more  grave  than 

tragedy : 

Nil  adeo  foedum,  quod  non  exacta  vetustas 

Ediderit  longique  labor  eommiserit  aevi. 

Oedipodes  matrem,  natam  duxisse  Thyestes 
290  Cantatur,  peperit  fratres  locasta  marito 

Et  Pelopea  sibi.     Thebas  ac  funera  Troiae 

Tristis  Erechthei  deplorat  scena  thcatri. 

In  volucrem  Tereus,  Cadmus  se  vertit  in  anguem, 

Scylla  novos  mirata  canes.     Hunc  arbore  figit, 


112      LATIN   SATIRICAL  WRITING   SUBSEQUENT  TO  JUVENAL 

295  Elevat  hunc  pluma,  squamis  hunc  fabula  vestit, 

Hunc  solvit  fluvio.     Numquam  spado  consul  in  orbe 
Nee  iudex  ductorve  fuit.     Quodcumque  virorum 
Est  decus,  eunuchi  scelus  est.      Exempla  creantur 
Quae  socci  superent  risus  luctusque  cothurni. 

Such  a  disgrace  is  not  credited,  at  first,  by  the  people: 

Fama  prius  false  similis  vanoque  videri 

Ficta  ioco;  levior  volitare  per  oppida  rumor 

Riderique  nefas:  veluti  nigrantibus  alis 

Audiretur  olor,  corvo  certante  ligustris. 
350  Atque  aliquis  gravior  morum:  "si  talibus"  inquit 

"Creditur  et  nimiis  turgent  mendacia  monstris, 

lam  testudo  volat,  profert  iam  cornua  vultur; 

Prona  petunt  retro  fluvii  iuga;  Gadibus  ortum 

Carmani  texere  diem;  iam  frugibus  aptum 
355  Aequor  et  adsuetum  silvis  delphina  videbo; 

Jam  cochleis  homines  iunctos  et  quidquid  inane 

Nutrit  ludaicis  quae  pingitur  India  velis," 

Subicit  et  mixtis  salibus  lascivior  alter: 

"Miraris?  nihil  est,  quod  non  in  pectore  magnum 
360  Concipit  Eutropius.     Semper  nova,  grandia  semper 

Diligit  et  celeri  degustat  singula  sensu. 

Nil  timet  a  tergo;  vigilantibus  undique  curls 

Nocte  dieque  patet;  lenis  facilisque  moveri 

Supplicibus  mediaque  tamen  mollissimus  ira 
365  Nil  negat  et  sese  vel  non  poscentibus  offert. 

Quidlibet  ingenuo  subigit  traditque  fruendum; 

Quidquid  amas,  dabit  ilia  manus;  communiter  omni 

Fungitur  officio  gaudetque  potentia  flecti. 

Hoc  quoque  conciliis  peperit  meritoque  laborum, 
370  Accipit  et  trabeas  argutae  praemia  dextrae." 

Up  to  this  point  the  book  has  been  pure  satire.  Now  the 
inevitable  Stilicho  appears,  and  the  remainder  of  the  book  is 
taken  up  by  an  appeal  to  him  by  the  spirit  of  Rome  to  put  an 
end  to  such  an  intolerable  situation. 

Book  2  is  written  after  the  fall  of  Eutropius  from  his  high 
estate.  The  expected  has  happened.  The  omens  have  been 
fulfilled.  Yet  had  there  been  no  omens,  had  Eutropius  even 
been  blessed  with  favorable  ones,  'twere  a  disgrace  to  have 
so  honored  him. 


CLAUDIAN  113 

40  Utque  semel  patult  monstris  iter,  omnia  tempus 

Nacta  suum  properant:  nasci  turn  decolor  imber 
Infantumque  novi  voltus  et  dissona  partu 
Semina,  turn  lapidum  fletus  armentaque  vulgo 
Ausa  loqui  mediisque  ferae  se  credere  muris; 

45  Turn  vates  sine  more  rapi  lymphataque  passim 

Pectora  terrifici  stimulis  ignescere  Phoebi. 
Fac  nullos  cecinisse  deos:  adeone  retusi 
Quisquam  cordis  erit,  dubitct  qui  partibus  illis 
Affore  fatalem  castrati  consulis  annum? 

50  Sed  quam  caecus  inest  vitiis  amor!     Omne  futurum 

Despicitur  suadentque  brevem  praesentia  fructum 
Et  ruit  in  vetitum  damni  sccura  libido, 
Dum  mora  supplicii  lucro  serumque  quod  instat 
Creditur.     Haut  equidem  contra  tot  signa  Camillo 

55  Detulerim  fasces,  nedum  (pro  sexus!)  inerti 

Mancipio,  cui  cuncta  licet  responsa  iuberent 
Hortantesque  licet  sponderent  prospera  divi, 
Turpe  fuit  cessisse  viros. 

The  disgrace  of  his  rule  is  accentuated  by  ironical  compari- 
sons: 

Spado  Romuleo  succinctus  amictu 
63  Sedit  in  Augustis  laribus. 


Subter  adulantes  tituli  nimiaeque  leguntur 
80  Vel  maribus  laudes:  claro  quod  nobilis  ortu 

(Cum  vivant  domini),  quod  maxima  proelia  solus 
Impleat  (et  patitur  miles!),  quod  tertius  urbis 
Conditor  (hoc  Byzas  Constantinusque  videbunt!). 

Now  the  "creaking  mythological  machinery"  of  epic  Is 
employed.  Mars,  observing  the  world  with  a  cruel  smile, 
bids  Bellona  stir  to  revolt  a  band  of  Gothic  colonists  in  Phry- 
gia.  This  is  accomplished  in  a  way  similar  to  the  rousing  of 
Turnus  in  the  Aeneid.^^  The  turreted  crown  falls  from  the 
head  of  Cybebe;  and,  recognizing  the  fulfilment  of  an  old 
prophecy,  she  bids  farewell  to  the  land. 

Eutropius,  while  publicly  minimizing  the  importance  of  the 
revolt,  secretly  tries  to  bribe  the  Goths,  but,  emboldened  by 
success,  they  haughtily  refuse.     He  is  forced  to  call  a  council 

"  Book  7,  415  ff. 


114      LATIN   SATIRICAL  WRITING   SUBSEQUENT  TO   JUVENAL 

to  deal  with  the  situation.     It  is  a  council  worthy  of  such  a 
premier:  a  most  contemptuous  passage^"*  describes  them, — 

their  chief  a  cook: 

luvenes  venere  protervi 
Lascivique  senes,  quibus  est  insignis  edendi 
Gloria  corruptasque  dapes  variasse  decorum, 
Qui  ventrem  invitant  pretio  traduntque  palato 

330  Sidereas  lunonis  aves  et  signa  loquendi 

Gnara  coloratis  viridis  defertur  ab  Indis, 
Quaesitos  trans  regna  cibos,  quorumque  profundam 
Ingluviem  non  Aegaeus,  non  alta  Propontis, 
Non  freta  longinquis  Maeotia  piscibus  explent. 

335  Vestis  odoratae  studium;  laus  maxima  risum 

Per  vanos  movisse  sales  minimeque  viriles; 
Munditiae;  compti  vultus;  onerique  vel  ipsa 
Serica.     Si  Chunus  feriat,  si  Sarmata  portas, 
Solliciti  scaenae;  Romam  contemnere  sueti 

340  Mirarique  suas,  quas  Bosphorus  obruat,  aedes; 

Saltandi  dociles  aurigarumque  periti. 
Pars  humili  de  plebe  duces.     Pars  compede  suras 
Cruraque  signati  nigro  liventia  ferro 
lura  regunt,  facies  quamvis  inscripta  repugnet 

345  Seque  suo  prodat  titulo.     Sed  prima  potestas 

Eutropium  praefert  Hosio  subnixa  secundo. 
Dulcior  hie  sane  cunctis  prudensque  movendi 
luris  et  admoto  qui  temperet  omnia  fumo, 
Fervidus,  accensam  sed  qui  bene  decoquat  iram. 

350  Considunt  apices  gemini  dicionis  Eoae, 

Hie  cocus,  hie  leno,  defessi  verbere  terga, 
Servitio,  non  arte  pares,  hie  saepius  emptus, 
Alter  ad  Hispanos  nutritus  verna  Penates.'^ 

Eutropius  calls  them  from  their  accustomed  pleasures  to  the, 
matter  in  hand.  Suddenly  Leo,  a  former  worker  in  wool 
now  the  Ajax  of  Eutropius,  boldly  volunteers  to  "shear" 
the  rebel  chief: 

Emicat  extemplo  cunctis  trepidantibus  audax 
Crassa  mole  Leo,  quern  vix  Cyclopia  solum 
Aequatura  fames,  quem  non  ieiuna  Celaeno 
Vinceret;  hinc  nomen  fertur  meruisse  Leonis. 
380  Acer  in  absentes  linguae  iactator,  abundans 

Corporis  exiguusque  animi,  doctissimis  artis 

"  Cf.  Hodgkin,  Italy  and  her  Invaders,  2,  541. 
"  Observe  the  pun  on  iuris,  348. 


CLAUDIAN  115 

Quondam  lanificae,  moderatur  pectinis  unci. 
Non  alius  lanam  purgatis  sordibus  aeque 
Praebuerit  calathis,  similis  nee  pinguia  quisquam 

385  Vellera  per  tenues  ferri  producere  rimas. 

Tunc  Aiax  erat  Eutropii  lateque  fremebat, 
Non  septem  vasto  quatiens  umbone  iuvencos, 
Sed,  quam  perpetuis  dapibus  pigroque  sedili 
Inter  anus  interque  colos  oneraverat,  alvum. 

390  Adsurgit  tandem  vocemque  expromit  anhelam: 

"Quis  novus  hie  torpor,  socii?  quonam  usque  sedemus 
Femineis  clausi  thalamis  patimurque  periclum 
Gliscere  desidia?     Graviorum  turba  malorum 
Texitur,  ignavis  trahimus  dum  tempora  votis. 

395  Me  petit  hie  sudor.     Numquam  mea  dextera  segnis 

Ad  ferrum.     Faveat  tantum  Tritonia  eoeptis, 
Inceptum  peragetur  opus.     lam  cuneta  furore 
Qui  gravat,  efficiam  leviorem  pondere  lanae 
Tarbigilum  tumidum,  desertoresque  Gruthungos 

400  Ut  miseras  populabor  oves  et  pace  relata 

Pristina  restituam  Phrygias  ad  stamina  matres.''^^ 

The  army  advances,  a  confused,  planless  horde,  and  is 
speedily  routed  by  the  Goths.  The  mighty  Leo,  fleeing  for 
his  life,  is  too  heavy  a  load  for  his  horse,  he  is  thrown  into  the 
mire  (like  the  swine  formerly  butchered  by  his  friend  Hosius), 
and  is  at  last  scared  to  death  by  the  rustling  of  the  wind  in 

the  trees: 

440  Ipse  Leo  damma  eervoque  fugacior  ibat 

Sudanti  tremebundus  equo:  qui  pondere  postquam 
Decidit,  implieitus  limo  cunctantia  pronus 
Per  vada  reptabat.     Caeno  subnixa  tenaci 
Mergitur  et  pingui  suspirat  corpore  moles 

445  (More  suis,  dapibus  quae  iam  devota  futuris 

Turpe  gemit,  quotiens  Hosius  mucrone  corusco 
Armatur  cingitque  sinus  secumque  volutat, 
Quas  figat  verubus  partes,  quae  frusta  ealenti 
Mandet  aquae  quantoque  eutem  distendat  eehino: 

450  Flagrat  opus;  crebro  pulsatus  perstrepit  ietu; 

Contexit  varius  penetrans  Chalcedona  nidor). 
Ecce  levis  frondes  a  tergo  eoneutit  aura: 
Credit  tela  Leo;  valuit  pro  vulnere  terror 
Implevitque  vieem  iaeuli  vitamque  nocentem 

^^  An  excellent  example  of  the  burlesque  resulting  from  the  mixture  of 
epic  style  with  a  comic  subject  is  to  be  seen  in  "  Emicat  .  .  .  crassa  mole 
Leo." 


Il6      LATIN   SATIRICAL  WRITING   SUBSEQUENT  TO  JUVENAL 

455  Integer  et  sola  formidine  saucius  efflat. 

Quis  tibi  tractandos  pro  pectine,  degener,  enses, 

Quis  solio  campum  praeponere  suasit  avito? 

Quam  bene  texentum  laudabas  carmina  tutus 

Et  matutinis  pellebas  frigora  mensis! 
460  Hie  miserande  iaces;  hie,  dum  tua  vellera  vitas, 

Tandem  fila  tibi  neverunt  ultima  Parcae. 

Panic  fills  the  city;  there  is  no  hope  save  in  Stilicho;  the 
scales  fall  from  eyes  of  those  who  had  so  long  obeyed  Eutro- 
pius,  and  the  lictors  shudder  at  the  thought  of  bearing  the 
fasces  of  such  a  consul.  Now  Aurora,  garbed  in  mourning, 
closes  the  book  with  a  flattering  appeal  to  Stilicho  for  aid, 
corresponding  to  the  close  of  Book  i. 

The  Praefatio  to  Book  2,  which  Birt  regards  as  really  a 
third  division  of  the  poem  as  a  whole,  consists  of  seventy-six 
lines  of  elegiacs,  and  is  not  so  much  of  a  satirical  nature  as 
it  is  a  song  of  triumph  and  exultation  at  the  final  disgrace  and 
banishment  to  Cyprus  of  Eutropius,  The  poet,  however,  can- 
not refrain  from  a  few  sarcastic  apostrophical  remarks,  as 

Miror  cur,  aliis  qui  pandere  fata  solebas 

Ad  propriam  cladem  caeca  Sibylla  taces? 
lam  tibi  nulla  videt  fallax  insomnia  Nilus 
40  Pervigilant  vates  nee,  miserande,  tui. 

55  lam  non  Armenios  iaculis  terrebis  et  arcu, 

Per  campos  volucrem  non  agitabis  equum; 
Dilecto  caruit  Byzantius  ore  senatus; 
Curia  consiliis  aestuat  orba  tuis: 
Emeritam  suspende  togam,  suspende  pharetram; 
60  Ad  Veneris  partes  ingeniumque  redi.     Etc. 

Certain  resemblances  and  differences  between  the  In  Rufi- 
num  and  the  In  Etitropium  deserve  mention.  Both  poems  are 
based  on  the  same  motive, — to  satirize  enemies  of  Stilicho, 
and  the  similarity  is  carried  further  by  the  fact  that  both  the 
enemies  held  the  same  position,  prime  minister  to  the  eastern 
Emperor.  Occasion  is  found  in  both  poems  for  the  praise  of 
Stilicho.     The  style  of  epic  writing,  also,  is  employed  in  both: 


CLAUDIAN  117 

in  both  Mars  views  the  scene  from  the  snowy  diffs  of  Haemus, 
and  talks  with  Bellona. 

But  there  is  a  distinct  difference  in  the  tone  of  the  two 
poems.  The  invective  against  Rufinus  depends  more  on  the 
epic  element  for  effectiveness,  and  the  style  is  more  lofty  and 
sustained.  The  satire  is  denunciation,  never  ridicule.  There 
is  no  descent  to  burlesque  or  comedy.  It  is  a  serious  piece 
of  work,  from  the  thoughtful  and  beautiful  exordium  to  the 
impressive  final  damnation  of  the  criminal. 

With  the  satire  against  Eutropius  the  case  is  somewhat 
different.  Plays  upon  words  are  frequent.^''  Eutropius  is 
not  presented  as  terrible,  but  as  disgusting.  The  pompous 
manner  of  the  epic  narrative  is  often  applied  to  trifles,  which 
are  really  comical  and  ridiculous,  such  as  the  speech  of  Leo, 
and  his  flight  after  the  battle.  To  put  the  matter  in  a  nut- 
shell we  may  use  Claudian's  own  words: 

Exempla  creantur 
Quae  socci  superent  risus  luctusque  cothurni. 1* 

Theodor  Birt,  in  his  careful  analysis  of  the  In  Eutropium, 

finds  many  points  of  resemblance  to  Juvenal. ^^     Eutropius  as 

a  monstrum  finds  precedent  in  Juvenal  4,  2,  where  the  same 

epithet  is  applied  to  Crispinus.     Juvenal's  words,  addressed 

to    Mars, 

O  pater  urbis, 

Uncle  nefas  tantum  Latiis  pastoribus?     Unde 

Haec  tetigit,  Gradive,  tuos  urtica  nepotes? 

Traditur  ecce  viro  clarus  genere  atque  opibus  vir, 

Nee  galeam  quassas  nee  terram  cuspide  pulsas 

Nee  quereris  patri?-" 

are  clearly  reflected  by  Claudian's 

Subrisit  crudele  pater  cristisque  micantem 

Quassavit  galeam;  etc.^^ 
"  Cf.  Birt,  Zwei  politische  Satiren  des  alien  Rom,  44,  45  n. 
'*  In  Eutropium  i,  298  f. 

19  Zwei  politische  Satiren,  52   ff.     Cf.   Boissier,  La  fin  du  paganistne,  2, 
286. 

20  Juvenal  2,  126-131. 

21  In  Eutropium  2,  108-9. 


Il8      LATIN   SATIRICAL  WRITING   SUBSEQUENT  TO  JUVENAL 

and 

Tunc  adamante  gravem  nodisque  rigentibus  hastam, 

Telum  ingens  nullique  deo  iaculabile  torsit. 
Fit  late  ruptis  via  nubibus.     Ilia  per  auras 
Tot  freta,  tot  montes  uno  contenta  volatu 
Transilit  et  Phrygiae  mediis  affigitur  arvis. 
Sensit  humus.     Gemuit  Nysaeo  palmite  felix 
Hermus  et  aurata  Pactolus  inhorruit  urna 
Totaque  summissis  fleverunt  Dindyma  silvis.^^ 

What  Juvenal  suggests,  Claudian  amplifies. 

And  perhaps  In  the  In  Eutropium,  2,  329-334.  we  may  see  a 
resemblance  to  Juvenal,  i,  140-143.  In  fact,  here,  the  epithet 
longinqiiis  piscibus  used  in  connection  with  the  waters  of  the 
Propontis  and  the  Maeotis,  sounds  somewhat  exaggerated 
from  the  viewpoint  of  Constantinople,  where  the  scene  is  laid, 
but  quite  natural  from  the  viewpoint  of  a  Roman  satirist.^' 

Birt's  arguments  in  favor  of  Claudian  as  an  imitator  of 
Lucilius  may  be  thus  summarized: 

1.  It  was  possible,  for  we  know  from  other  writers,  e.  g., 
Ausonius,  that  Lucilius  was  read  in  the  fourth  century. 

2.  Claudian's  relation  to  Stilicho  was  similar  to  that  of 
Lucilius   to  Scipio.'* 

3.  Certain  fragments  in  the  26th  book  of  Lucilius  may  be 
taken  to  be  parts  of  a  satire  dealing  with  the  Numantian  War. 
In  this  the  Roman  armies  were  at  first  defeated  by  a  bar- 
barian, as  in  Claudian  the  army  of  Leo  was  defeated  by  the 
Goths.  Scipio's  inefficient  predecessor  Lepidus  is  the  counter- 
part of  Eutropius,  surrounded  by  eating  and  drinking  satel- 
lites ;  his  army  is  dispersed  by  the  wind, — the  wind  which  fright- 
ens Leo  to  death.  Other  passages  seem  to  refer  to  some 
character  quite  like  Eutropius  in  fitness  only  for  humble  and 
base  offices.^" 

'^  In  Eutropium,  2,  166-173. 

23  Cf.  Juvenal,  4,  41  ff.     For  further  discussion  of  similarities  in  thought 
or  phrase  the  reader  is  referred  to  Birt,  1.  c. 
2^  Horace,  Sermones,  II,  i,  16  f. 
25  Birt,  Zwei  politische  Satiren,  1 12-123. 


CLAUDIAN  119 

But  this  is  mostly  based  on  conjecture,  and  on  a  straining 
of  coincidences  in  phraseology.  No  such  satire  on  the  Nu- 
mantian  War  is  recognized  by  Marx  in  his  edition  of  Lucilius. 
In  fact,  Birt  himself  frankly  admits  that  his  evidence  is  scarce- 
ly sufficient  to  convince  a  reluctant  reader.-''  It  seems  best 
to  take  the  suggestion  that  Claudian  followed  a  definite 
Lucilian  model  in  writing  the  In  Eutropium  as  merely  a 
suggestion,  and  not  an  actual  demonstrable  fact.-^ 

A  passage  of  vivid  satirical  characterization  of  Gildo,  the 
Count  of  Africa,  is  to  be  found  in  the  unfinished  poem  De 
Bello  Gildonico,  part  of  the  speech  of  Africa  before  the  as- 
sembled gods,  denouncing  Gildo.  His  avarice,  luxury,  lust, 
insolence,  and  cruelty  are  dilated  on  in  words  comparable  to 
those  applied  to  Rufinus  and  Eutropius. 

Quod  Nilus  et  Atlas 

Dissidet,  occiduis  quod  Gadibus  arida  Barce 
160  Quodque  Paraetonio  secedit  litore  Tingi, 

Hoc  sibi  transcripsit  proprium.     Pars  tertia  mundi 

Unius  praedonis  ager.     Distantibus  idem 

Inter  se  vitiis  cinctus:  quodcumque  profunda 

Traxit  avaritia,  luxu  peiore  refundit. 
165  Instat  terribilis  vivis,  morientibus  heres, 

Virginibus  raptor,  thalamis  obscenus  adulter. 

Nulla  quies:  oritur  praeda  ccssante  libido; 

Divitibusque  dies  et  nox  metuenda  maritis. 

Quisquis  vel  locuples  pulchra  vel  coniuge  notus, 
170  Crimine  pulsatur  false;  si  crimina  desunt, 

Accitus  conviva  perit.     Mors  nulla  refugit 

Artificem:  varios  sucos  spumasque  requirit 

Serpentum  virides  et  adhuc  ignota  novcrcis 

Gramina.     Etc. 

In  the  speech  of  Roma,  in  the  same  poem,  there  occurs  in 
the  midst  of  her  complaints  an  ironical  passage  similar  to 
In  Eutropium   i,  210  ff.: 

^  Birt,  p.  124. 

^'  See  Giithling,  Bursians  Jahresbericht,  76,  248  ff.  Marx,  Deutsche 
Literaturzeitung,  1888,  662.  Stowasser,  Zeitschrift  fiir  die  oesterreichis- 
chen  Gymnasien,  XXXIX,  984.  But  also  Jeep,  Berliner  Philologische 
Wochenschrift,  1890,  664, 

9 


120      LATIN   SATIRICAL   WRITING   SUBSEQUENT  TO  JUVENAL 

Ideone  tot  annos 
Flebile  cum  tumida  bellum  Carthagine  gessi? 
Idcirco  voluit  contempta  luce  reverti 
Regulus?     Hoc  damnis,  genitor,  Cannensibus  emi? 

80  Incassum  totiens  lituis  navalibus  arsit 

Hispanum  Siculumque  fretum  vastataque  tellus 
Totque  duces  caesi  ruptaque  emissus  ab  Alpe 
Poenus  et  attonitae  iam  proximus  Hannibal  urbi? 
Scilicet  ut  domitis  frueretur  barbarus  Afris, 

85  Muro  sustinui  Martem  noctesque  cruentas 

Collina  pro  turre  tuli?     Gildonis  ad  usum 
Carthago  ter  victa  ruit?     Hoc  mille  gementis 
Italiae  clades  impensaque  saecula  bello, 
Hoc  Fabius  fortisque  mihi  Marcellus  agebat, 

90  Ut  Gildo  cumularet  opes?     Etc. 

Claudlan's  minor  poems  include  several  examples  of  epi- 
grammatic, pungently  satirical  writing.  Such  is  one  addressed 
to  a  critic  of  his  verses  who  was  afflicted  with  gout: 

Quae  tibi  cum  pedibus  ratio?     quid  carmina  culpas? 

Scandere  qui  nescis,  versiculos  laceras? 
"Claudicat  hie  versus;  haec"  inquit  "syllaba  nutat," 

Atque  nihil  prorsus  stare  putat  podager.^* 

Of  real  Catullan  wit  is: 

Manlius  indulget  somno  noctesque  diesque; 

Insomnis  Pharius  sacra  profana  rapit. 
Omnibus  hoc,  Italae  gentes,  exposcite  votis, 

Manlius  ut  vigilet,  dormiat  ut  Pharius.^* 

Carmina  minora,  43  and  44,  against  a  certain  Curetius, 
dissolute  son  of  a  lying  astrologer,  which  Birt^^  characterizes 
as  " satirici  atque  lascivientis  generis,'^  are  rather  obscene  than 
satirical. 

^*  Carmina  minora,  13. 
-^  Carmina  minora,  21. 
^^  Prolegomena,  Ixi. 


S.     PAULINI     EPIGRAMMA 

The  poem  which  bears  the  above  title  was  for  a  long  time 
wrongly  attributed  to  the  rhetorician  Claudius  Marius  Victor. 
Beyond  the  mere  name  Paulinus,  there  is  no  evidence  as  to  the 
authorship.  The  date  is  set  by  Schenkl,  from  various  his- 
torical allusions  in  the  poem,  at  408  A.  d.^  In  any  case,  the 
author  was  a  man  of  some  poetical  ability.  Reminiscences 
of  Vergil  are  frequent  in  his  verses,  which  are  constructed  in  a 
correct  and  pleasing  manner.  The  dialogue  form  into  which 
the  content  is  thrown  makes  an  attractive  picture,  and  one 
could  wish  that  the  bell  for  evening  prayer  had  not  rung  quite 
so  soon,  to  break  up  the  party .^ 

The  poem  describes  a  conversation  between  a  young  man, 
Salmon,  an  elderly,  unnamed  monk,  and  Thesbon,  a  neighbor. 
Salmon,  who  is  apparently  revisiting  the  monastery  where  he 
had  been  educated,  is  met  by  the  old  monk  and  escorted  by 
him  to  the  nearby  dwelling  of  Thesbon,  where,  on  a  grassy 
seat  in  a  shady  spot,  the  three  prepare  to  renew  their  former 
friendship. 

The  talk  soon  develops  into  a  satire  upon  the  moral  defects 
of  the  times,  upon  the  vices  which  are  more  dangerous  than 
the  barbarian  invaders,  upon  a  distorted  sense  of  values, 
upon  the  pursuit  of  vain  and  unprofitable  knowledge,  upon 
the  luxury,  the  excessive  attention  to  personal  appearance, 
and  the  frivolity,  of  the  female  sex,  without  at  the  same  time 
exculpating  men   from  blame. ^ 

In  answer  to  a  question  as  to  the  state  of  affairs  in  the  land, 

^  Prooemium  to  his  edition  of  the  text,  in  the  Corpus  Scriptorum  Ecclesias- 
ticorum  Laiinorum,  Vol.  XVI,  501. 

^  Manitius,  Geschichte,  164  f.     Ebert,  Geschichte,  320  f. 
^  Ampere,  Histoire  litteraire  de  la  France,  2,  154. 

121 


122      LATIN   SATIRICAL  WRITING   SUBSEQUENT  TO  JUVENAL 

Salmon  replies,  "We  are  oppressed  by  the  attacks  of  the 
Sarmatians,  the  Vandals,  and  the  Alans,  yet  there  is  another 
foe,  more  dangerous  because  more  concealed.  Alas,  we  seek 
to  repair  the  devastation  of  our  material  goods,  but  pay  no 
attention  to  our  spiritual  welfare.  As  we  were,  so  we  remain, 
nothing  receives  honor  save  riches,  whatever  seems  to  be  to 
our  advantage  we  consider  right,  and  dignify  the  very  vices 
with  the  names  of  good  qualities." 

Fuimus  qui,  nunc  semper  sumus  isdem 

Sub  vitiis  nullo  culparum  fine  manentes. 

Qui  prius  in  noctem  prandebat,  nunc  quoque  potans 

Continuat  soles  nullo  discrimine  lychnis. 
35  Moechus  erat  Pedius:  moechatur,  durat  in  isdem 

Leprae  dum  fervis;  livebat  Polio:  livet; 

Albus,  cunctorum  quondam  captator  honorum, 

Orbis  in  excidio  minus  ambitione  laborat? 

Nil  sanctum  nobis  nisi  quaestus  et  illud  honestum  est 
40  Utile  quod  fuerit;  vitiisque  vocabula  recti 

Indimus  et  parci  cognomen  sumit  avarus.* 

Others,  he  adds,  who  would  not  yield  to  the  attractions  of 
open  vice,  are  led  away  into  vain  pursuits  which  masquerade 
as  virtues.  They  seek  the  causes  of  things,  study  the  move- 
ments of  the  stars,  and  presumptuously  pry  into  the  secrets 
of  the  Almighty. 

In  reply  to  a  suggestion  that  the  faults  of  men  are  com- 
paratively venial,  while  it  is  the  "feminei  furores"  which 
make  society  what  it  is,  Salmon  breaks  out  into  a  sharp, 
contemptuous  invective  against  the  female  sex.  Yet  all  the 
while  he  admits  the  ultimate  responsibility  of  men,  in  the 
attempt  to  please  whom  women  have  become  what  they  are. 
They  wear  costly  jewels,  they  paint  their  faces,  they  neglect 
the  Bible  for  pagan  love  poems  and  theatrical  shows. 

*  With  verses  39-41  cf.  Horace,  Epistles,  I,  i ,  52-54;  65-66,  and  especially 
Sermones,  I,  3,  49  flf.,  55  flf.,  where  the  condition  is  the  reverse,  a  man's 
failings  being  exaggerated.  The  pendulum  has  swung  to  the  other  extreme. 
Tolerance  of  faults  is  carried  too  far,  and  the  overlooking  of  serious  defects 
is  as  much  to  be  condemned  as  the  intolerance  of  venial  ones. 


S.    PAULINI   EPIGRAMMA  1 23 

55  Ante  diem,  Thesbon,  tenebris  nox  umida  condet 

Quam  possim  mores  huius  percurrere  turbae, 
Quae,  cum  lege  Dei  vivant  sub  lege  virorum 
Pro  pudor  baud  umquam  sine  nostro  crimine  peccant. 
Nam  nisi  deliciis  faciles  traheremur  earum, 

60  Haut  illas  vitiis  vellemus  vivere  nostris; 

Nee  rigidas  auro  vestes  nee  vellera  Serum 
Nee  lapides,  toto  quos  fert  mercator  ab  orbe, 
Fundorum  pretiis  emcrcnt.     Suspiria  maesti 
lungimus  et  vanas  non  est  pudor  addere  curas, 

65  Si  gravis  ignotis  processit  Lesbia  gemmis 

Et  decies  Passiena  novo  radiavit  in  ostro. 
lam  si  mutatis  studeant  occurrere  formis 
Atque  viris  alios  aliosque  opponere  vultus, 
Nonne  error  noster?     Quid  agunt  in  corpore  casto 

70  Cerussa  et  minium  centumque  venena  colorum?* 

Mentis  honor  morumque  decus  sunt  vincula  sancti 
Coniugii;  si  forma  placet,  venientibus  annis 
Cedet  amor:  sola  est  senium  quae  nescit  honestas. 
lam  quod  perpetuis  discursibus  omnia  lustrant 

75  Quod  pascunt,  quod  multa  gerunt,  quod  multa  locuntur, 

Non  vitium  nostrum  est?     Paulo  et  Solomone  relicto 
Aut  Marc  cantatur  Phoenissa  aut  Naso  Corinna. 
Nonne  cavis  distent  penetralia  nostra  theatris? 
Accipiunt  plausus  lyra  Flacci  et  scaena  Marulli. 

80  Nos  horum,  nos  causa  sumus,  nos  turpiter  istis 

Nutrimenta  damus  flammis — culpetur  honesti 
Inproba  nupta  viri  nummo  decerpere  nummum? — 
Nam  sicut  speculo  rcferunt  accepta  tenaci 
Ingenio  similes  morisque  exempla  secuntur. 

85  Cur  solida  infelix  damnatur  femina  culpa, 

Cum  placeat  stolido  coniunx  vitiosa  marito? 
Unus  ubique  hostis  diffuso  turbine  saevit: 
Nee  mirum  est  vinci  belli  terrore  subactos. 

The  satirical  portion  of  the  poem  closes  here.  After  a 
partly  fragmentary  passage,  Salmon  in  his  turn  inquires  about 
local  affairs,  but  is  prevented  from  receiving  a  reply  by  the 
approach  of  the  hour  for  evening  worship,  and  so  the  poem 
ends. 

It  is  worthy  of  notice  that  the  poet  names  definite  persons 

as  examples  of  qualities  which   he  censures.     E.  g.,  v.    35 

^  Cf.  Hieronymus,  Epistle  54,  7 — Quid  facil  in  facie  Chrislianae  pur- 
purissus  et  cerussa? 


124      LATIN   SATIRICAL   WRITING   SUBSEQUENT  TO  JUVENAL 

"Pedius;"  v.  36  "Polio;"  v.  37  "Albus;"  v.  65  "Lesbia;" 
V.  66  "Passiena."  This  is  the  method  of  Horace,  Persius, 
and  Juvenal,  as  in  Horace,  Sermones,  I,  4,  109  ff.  (which 
includes  "Albi  filius"),  I,  i,  101-2,  etc.;  as  in  Persius,  i,  85 
(Pedius);  2,  14;  2,  19,  etc.;  as  in  Juvenal,  6,  387;  7,  176 
(Polio);  2,  36;  2,  68,  etc. 


ORIENTIUS 

The  Commonitorium  of  Orientius  is  an  elegiac  poem  in  two 
book,  of  6i8  and  418  verses  respectively/  written  in  southern 
France  not  long  after  the  barbarian  invasions  of  406  A.  d.^ 
The  author  is  probably  identical  with  the  Bishop  Orientius 
of  Auch.^ 

The  poem  is,  as  its  name  implies,  a  book  of  advice,  instruc- 
tion, and  warning,  written  in  a  tone  of  high  seriousness  and 
by  an  elderly  man  who  considered  himself  well  qualified  to 
speak.^  The  style  is  somewhat  discursive,  yet  sincere  and 
comparatively  free  from  artificialities.  The  author  is  addres- 
sing, in  general,  a  single  hypothetical  reader,  to  whom  he 
directs  his  advice  and  admonitions.^ 

His  tone  is  usually  a  temperate,  kindly,  didactic  tone.  In 
many  cases  he  expounds  at  length  the  course  that  the  true 
Christian  should  follow,  or  says  merely,  "Such  and  such  a 
habit  is  bad;  avoid  it."  E.  g., 

2,  41  Fallere  crede  nefas!  durat  sententia  dicens: 

Os,  quod  mentitur,  morte  animum  perimit. 
^  The  elegiac  couplet,  as  well  as  the  straightforward  hexameter  verse 
of  Vergil's  Georgics  and  Horace's  Ars  Poetica,  had  been  already  used  as  a 
form  for  didactic  poetry, — e.  g.  Ovid's  Ars  Amatoria,  etc.  The  employ- 
ment of  this  verse  for  this  purpose  can  probably  be  traced  ultimately  to 
the  gnomic  poetry  of  the  Greeks,  with  its  inculcation  of  maxims  and  aphor- 
isms. 

2  Robinson  Ellis,  Praejatio  to  his  edition  of  the  text  in  the  Corpus 
Scriptorum  Ecclesiasticorum  Latinorum,  16,  193  f.  Ebert,  Geschichte,  410, 
note  2,  sets  the  date  of  composition  at  430. 

^  Manitius,  Geschichte,  193.     Histoire  Literaire  de  la  France,  2,  251  ff. 
*  Commonitorium,  i,  405-6.     Ebert,  Geschichte,  410. 
^E.  g.  I,  15-16: 

Ergo,  age,  da  pronas  aures  sensumque  vacantem: 
Vita  docenda  mihi  est,  vita  petenda  tibi. 
and  2,  I 

Si  monitis  gradiare  meis,  fidissime  lector,  etc. 

125 


126      LATIN   SATIRICAL  WRITING   SUBSEQUENT  TO  JUVENAL 

Et  quod  erit  verax  semper  dixisse  memento, 
Et  non  quod  non  est  sermo  tuus  resonet. 

But  we  shall  see  that  also,  in  other  cases,  when  discussing 
vices,  the  poet  adopts  a  satirical  point  of  view  and  makes  use 
of  a  satirical  style.  He  forgets,  apparently,  whom  he  is 
supposed  to  be  really  talking  to,  and  provides  himself  with  a 
fictitious  opponent,  in  order  to  give  his  arguments  added 
concreteness  and  vividness.^ 

In  Book  I,  483  ff.,  Orientius  dwells  on  that  favorite  topic 
of  ancient  moralists,  the  greed  of  gain.  Everywhere,  he 
says,  prevails  this  root,  cause,  head,  fount,  and  origin  of  evil. 
It  leads  men  to  pervert  the  gifts  of  God,  and  to  brave  the 
perils  of  the  dreadful  sea. 

Nee  cura  leviore  dehinc  vitare  memento 

Unius  innumerum  crimen  avaritiae. 
485  Omnibus  in  terris,  quas  sol  videt,  aequora  claudunt, 

Quasque  dies  adeunt,  quasque  tegunt  tenebrae, 
Ignoto  nobis  quidquid  diffunditur  orbe, 

Omnibus  in  regnis,  omnibus  in  populis, 
Infectis  morbo  multorum  mentibus  haec  est 
490  Radix  causa  caput  fons  et  origo  mali. 

Innocuos  quidquid  Dominus  formarat  in  usus, 

Haec  male  mutatis  perdidit  officiis.' 
Quid  quereris  diros  portus  ventosque  furentes, 

Tristis  famosis  aequora  naufragiis?^ 

The  love  of  gold,  he  continues,  leads  to  any  crime.  Why 
not  be  satisfied  with  what  is  really  enough?  Does  drink 
from  a  jeweled  cup  satisfy  thirst  more  than  from  the  palm  of 
the  hand,  or  food  taste  better  from  a  crystal  dish  than  from  a 

*  E.  g.  I,  337  ff.,  535;  2,  62,  etc.  Sometimes  in  the  plural,  as,  i,  501, 
avari.  Cf.  TertuUian,  De  Pallio,  above,  p.  20;  Ambrosius,  De  Nabuthae, 
above,  p.  81.  This  is  the  same  stylistic  device  which  appears  so  frequently 
in  writers  like  Horace,  for  instance,  who  will  begin  a  poem  by  addressing 
Maecenas,  and  later  bring  in  a  tu  or  a  te  which  does  not  refer  to  Maecenas 
at  all,  or  indeed  to  any  definite  personality. 

'  Cf.  Prudentius,  Hamartigenia,  306  f. 

Perversum  ius  omne  viget  dum  quicquid  habendum 
Omnipotens  dederat  studia  in  contraria  vertunt. 

*  Cf.  Ambrosius,  De  Helta  etieiunio,  19,  71,  above,  p.  77,  and  references. 


ORIENTIUS  127 

common  plate?^  This  naturally  leads  to  a  reflection  on  the 
vanity  of  worldly  goods,  resembling  that  of  Ambrosius, 
De   Nabuthae,  i,   2. 

In  Book  2,  13  ff.,  Orientius  condemns  the  tendency  of  the 
time  toward  lax  moral  standards  and  the  too  ready  con- 
doning of  faults: 

Praecipuus  labor  est  blandam  contemnere  laudem, 
Quae  trahit  in  praeceps  ambitiosa  homines, 
15  Et  semper  tacito  festinat  ad  intima  motu 

Visceribusque  ipsis  pestis  acerba  sedet. 
Omnia  dum  volumus,  facimus  quaecumque,  probari, 

Utque  suis  nullus  non  faveat  vitiis, 
Lenito  titulo  parcum  se  dicit  avarus, 
20  Acris  velatur  nomine  saevitia, 

Ac  studiis  totis  et  tota  nitimur  arte, 

Ut  quidquid  loquimur  vel  facimus  placeat.^° 

In  Book  2,  93  ff.,  there  is  a  satirical  picture  of  the  kind  of 
life  a  person  has  to  lead  who  seeks  favor  or  advancement  at 
the  hands  of  the  rich  and  great.  How  shall  he  gain  his  ends? 
He  must  be  prepared  to  suffer  rain,  cold,  hunger,  and  blows. 
He  must  run  about  all  over  the  city  till  late  at  night.  Even 
so  he  must  arise  again  at  early  dawn,  to  wait  for  the  opening 
of  his  patron's  door.  And  if  even  the  hard  stone  benches 
are  powerless  to  keep  him  awake,  he  may  be  forestalled  in  his 
entry  by  a  rival  who  has  come  later  than  he.  Or  perchance 
he  may  be  driven  away  by  a  lictor.  Then  let  him  pray  that 
he  may  escape  with  a  whole  skin.  Or  suppose  that  by  bribing 
the  doorkeeper  he  gains  admittance.  What  will  his  smooth 
words  and  servile  bearing  advantage  him?  Money  alone  is 
the  key  to  success.  He  who  offers  words  will  receive  empty 
words  in  return.  Or  even  suppose  that  one  attains  office, 
and  the  year  is  distinguished  by  his  name, — 'tis  a  brief  period 
at  best,  and  in  the  crowd  of  those  who  hurry  to  succeed  him 
he  is  soon   forgotten. 

^The  old  Stoic-Cynic  doctrine.  Cf.  Horace,  Sermones,  I,  i,  49  ff- 
Paulinus  Nolanus,  XXXII,  42  ff. 

1"  Cf.  5.  Paulini  Epigramma  41 — par ci  cognomen  sumit  avarus,  with  note; 
above,  p.  122. 


128      LATIN   SATIRICAL  WRITING   SUBSEQUENT   TO   JUVENAL 

An  tibi  si  fragiles  mundi  quaerantur  honores, 
Munere  quo  speres  emeruisse  hominem? 
95  Quidquid  id  est  variis  quod  vexat  corpora  saevis, 

Dum  celeri  vitam  currimus  in  stadio: 
Contemptum  pluvias  frigus  ieiunia  rixas 

Contento  poteris  sustinuisse  animo, 
Discurrens  urbem  totis  lustrare  diebus 
100  Vix  media  fessus  nocte  radire  domum, 

Continuoque  iterum  prima  consurgere  luce 

Ut  clausas  possis  primus  adire  fores. 
Et  cum  te  tenuis  per  dura  sedilia  somnus 
Compulerit  fessum  deposuisse  caput, 
105  Ille  prior  forsan  qui  serior  adfuit  ibit, 

At  tua  pulsabit  stulta  querella  notos. 
Aut  si  lictorem  tanget  vox  clarior,  opta 

Ut  bene  submotus  nee  male  caesus  eas. 
Sed  fac  quod  rarum  est,  ut  victus  ianitor  auro 
no  Ac  precibus  tandem  dicat  "adire  potes." 

Ingrederis  lingua  blandus  vultuque  modestus, 

Corpore  subiectus:  nil  tamen  ista  iuvant. 
Omnis  honor  pretii  est:  ibis  pro  pondere  numi 
Carta  seu  foliis  sive  petes  tabulis. 
115  Nam  si  cessarit  dives  manus,  irrita  res  est, 

Et  si  verba  dabis,  tu  quoque  verba  feres.     Etc. 

The  satirical  tone  of  this  passage  is  especially  distinct.  We 
are  at  once  reminded  of  similar  descriptions  in  Juvenal  (5, 
19  ff.),  and  Martial  (5,  22),  while  Orientius'  ''omnis  honor 
pretii  est''  is  an  echo  of  Juvenal's  ''omnia  Romae  cum  pretio" 
(3,  183).  Such  a  passage  as  this  is  more  or  less  conventional, 
and  is  not  entirely  in  harmony  with  the  general  character  of 
the  work  as  "a  spiritual  testament  left  to  his  parish  by  an  old 
and  wise  priest.  "^^  A  little  parish  in  the  south  of  France 
during  the  barbarian  invasions  would  have  small  need  of 
such  advice.  The  picture  corresponds  more  to  conditions  in 
the  capital  city,  with  its  references  to  "urbem"  (99)  and 
"lictorem"  (107)  and  consulships. 
"  Manitius,  Geschichte,  199. 


RUTILIUS   NAMATIANUS 

One  of  the  most  interesting  poets  of  the  late  Roman  period 
is  Claudius  Rutilius  Namatianus,  whose  two  books  of  elegiac 
verses,  De  Reditu  Suo,  survive  unfortunately  only  in  a  muti- 
lated form.  The  date  of  composition  is  fixed  at  A.  u.  c. 
1169  =  416  A.  D.  by  I,   135  f., — 

Quamvis  sedecies  denis  et  mille  pcractis 
Annus  praeterea  iam  tibi  nonus  eat. 

The  writer  was  a  native  of  Gaul  (i,  20),  but  had  held  the 
offices  of  magister  officiis  (i,  563)  and  prefect  of  the  city  (i, 
157  ff.)  at  Rome.  Whether  he  was  a  pagan,  as  has  been  in- 
ferred from  various  references  to  Christian  monks,  or  an 
unorthodox  Christian^  is  not  a  question  of  great  importance. 

The  journey  described  in  the  poem  was  that  from  Rome  to 
Gaul,  made  for  the  sake  of  examining,  and  taking  steps  to 
repair,  the  damage  done  by  the  Goths  to  the  poet's  property. 
Were  the  conclusion  of  the  poem  extant,  we  might  be  able  to 
locate  this  with  some  certainty,  but  as  it  is,  we  are  not.  The 
journey  was  a  leisurely  one,  by  sea  along  the  Italian  coast,  as 
the  recent  devastation  of  Tuscany  had  rendered  land  travel 
inconvenient  and  difficult. 

The  poem  is  in  the  main  a  delightful,  idyllic  description  of 
the  events  of  the  journey;  the  varying  weather,  the  historical 
localities  observed,  the  frequent  halts  made,  friends  met, 
diversions  enjoyed,  etc.  Through  the  whole  poem,  expressed 
at  length,  in  fact,  near  the  beginning,  breathes  a  spirit  of  in- 
tense affection  for  and  loyalty  to  the  city  of  Rome  and  her 
ancient  institutions,  and  of  faith  in  her  ability  to  survive  the 

^  The  possibility  of  this,  although  his  argument  is  not  entirely  convincing, 
was  pointed  out  by  H.[Schenk:l  in  the  Rheinisches  Museum,  66(1911), 

393  ff- 

129 


130      LATIN   SATIRICAL  WRITING   SUBSEQUENT  TO  JUVENAL 

shocks  of  barbarian  invasion  and  remain  the  mistress  of  the 
world. 

The  claim  of  the  poem  to  be  "half  satire "^  arises  partly 
from  the  resemblance  of  its  theme  to  the  journeyings  which 
furnished  both  Lucilius  and  Horace  with  material  for  satires, 
and  partly  from  a  number  of  comments  or  digressions  of  a 
satirical  character,  ranging  from  a  comparison  of  gold  with 
iron  to  a  scornful  characterization  of  the  Christian  monks, 
and  a  bitter  denunciation  of  Stilicho.  These  satirical  pas- 
sages are  entirely  casual,  being  suggested  by  some  place  seen, 
or  experience  met  with,  in  the  course  of  the  journey. 

In  one  of  these  passages  Rutilius  holds  up  to  execration 
the  family  of  the  Lepidi,  who  throughout  the  centuries  had 
won  an  evil  fame  by  rebellions  and  crimes.  The  poet  is  not 
sure  whether  character  is  transmitted  with  family  name,  or 
whether  by  some  strange  fatality  the  same  name  should  chance 
to  have  become  identified  with  a  certain  character: 

1,295  Inter  castrorum  vestigia  sermo  retexit 

Sardoam  Lepido  praecipitante  fugam. 
Littore  namque  Cosae  cognatos  depulit  hostes 

Virtutem  Catuli  Roma  secuta  ducis. 
lUe  tamen  Lepidus  peior  civilibus  armis, 
300  Qui  gessit  sociis  impia  bella  tribus 

Qui  libertatem  Mutinensi  Marte  receptam 

Obruit  auxiliis  urbe  pavente  novis. 
Insidias  paci  moliri  tertius  ausus 
Tristibus  excepit  congrua  fata  reis. 
305  Quartos,  Caesareo  dum  vult  irrepere  regno, 

Incesti  poenam  solvit  adulterii. 
Nunc  quoque — sed  melius  de  nostris  fama  queretur; 

Index  posteritas  semina  dira  notet! 
Nominibus  certos  credam  decurrere  mores? 
310  Moribus  an  potius  nomina  certa  dari? 

Quidquid  id  est,  mirus  Latiis  annalibus  ordo, 
Quod  Lepidum  totiens  recidit  ense  malum. 

The  sight  of  Ilva,  famous  for  its  mines,  gives  occasion  for  a 

2  Baumgartner,  Die  lateinische  und  griechische  Literatur  der  christlichen 
Volker,  191. 


RUTILIUS   NAMATIANUS  I3I 

satirical,  philosophical  reflection  on  the  real  worthlessness  of 
gold,  and  the  crimes  it  has  caused: 

1,355  Pliis  confert  populis  ferri  fecunda  creatrix 

Quam  Tartesiaci  glarea  fulva  Tagi. 
Materies  vitiis  aurum  letale  parandis: 

Auri  caecus  amor  ducit  in  omne  nefas. 
Aurea  legitimas  expugnant  munera  taedas, 
360  Virgineosque  sinus  aureus  imber  emit. 

Auro  victa  fides  munitas  decipit  urbes, 

Auri  flagitiis  ambitus  ipse  furit. 
At  contra  ferro  squalentia  rura  coluntur; 
Ferro  vivendi  prima  reperta  via  est. 
365  Secula  semideum  ferrati  nescia  Martis 

Ferro  crudeles  sustinuisse  feras. 
Humanis  manibus  non  sufficit  usus  inermis, 

Si  non  sint  aliae  ferrea  tela  manus. 
His  mecum  pigri  solabar  taedia  venti 
370  Dum  resonat  variis  vile  ccleuma  modis.^ 

The  excessive  watchfulness  of  a  Jewish  caretaker,  who 
considered  that  the  travellers  were  damaging  property, 
causes  Rutilius  to  utter  an  extremely  bitter  tirade  against 
the  Jews,  their  customs  and  religion,  closing  with  the  heartfelt 
wish  that  Titus  had  never  taken  Jerusalem  and  disseminated 
such  a  pest  upon  the  world: 

Namque  loci  querulus  curam  ludaeus  agebat, 
Humanis  animal  dissocialc  cibis. 
1 1385  Vexatos  frutices,  pulsatas  imputat  algas, 

Damnaque  libatae  grandia  clamat  aquae. 
Reddimus  obscenae  convicia  debita  genti, 

Quae  genitale  caput  propudiosa  metit. 
Radix  stultitiae,  cui  frigida  sabbata  cordi, 
390  Sed  cor  frigidius  religione  sua! 

Septima  quaeque  dies  turpi  damnata  veterno, 

^  Cf.  Vergil,  Aeneid,  3,  56  f. 

Quid  non  mortalia  pcctora  cogis, 
Auri  sacra  fames! 
Horace,  Carmina,  HI,  24,  48  f., 

aurum  et  inutile 
Summi  materiem  mali, 
Prudentius,  Hamartigenia,  258. 

Inde  seges  scelerum  radix  et  sola  malorum. 


132      LATIN   SATIRICAL  WRITING   SUBSEQUENT  TO  JUVENAL 

Tanquam  lassati  mollis  imago  dei. 
Cetera  mendacis  deliramenta  catastae 
Nee  pueros  omnes  credere  posse  reor. 
395  Atque  utinam  nunquam  ludaea  subacta  fuisset 

Pompeii  bellis  imperioque  Titi! 
Latius  excisae  pestis  contagia  serpunt, 
Victoresque  suos  natio  victa  premit.* 

Passing  the  island  of  Capraria,  Rutilius  gives  vent  to  his 
scorn  of  the  monks,  a  settlement  of  whom  is  located  there. 
They  shun  the  light,  and  wish  to  live  alone.  What  perverse 
folly,  to  make  oneself  miserable  through  fear  of  being  so! 
Perhaps  they  are  suffering  some  destined  punishment:  perhaps 
they  are  afflicted  with  an  excess  of  bile,  like  Bellerophon. 

Processu  pelagi  iam  se  Capraria  toUit; 
1,440  Squalet  lucifugis  insula  plena  viris. 

Ipsi  se  monachos  Graio  cognomine  dicunt, 

Quod  soli  nullo  vivere  teste  volunt. 
Munera  fortunae  metuunt,  dum  damna  verentur. 
Quisquam  sponte  miser,  ne  miser  esse  queat? 
445  Quaenam  perversi  rabies  tarn  stulta  cerebri, 

Dum  mala  formides,  nee  bona  posse  pati? 
Sive  suas  repetunt  fatorum  ergastula  poenas 

Tristia  seu  nigro  viscera  felle  tument. 
Sic  nimiae  bills  morbum  assignavit  Homerus 
450  Bellerophonteis  sollicitudinibus. 

Nam  iuveni  offenso  saevi  post  tela  doloris 
Dicitur  humanum  displicuisse  genus. 

Another  outbreak  against  the  monks  occurs  on  passing  the 
isle  of  Gorgon.  Here  a  promising  young  man,  of  good  family 
and  prospects,  a  friend  of  Rutilius,  had  immured  himself  in 
monastic  life.  To  Rutilius  this  was  nothing  less  than  a 
catastrophe,  and  he  mingles  his  pity  for  the  misguided  youth 
with  severe  scorn  of  the  tribe  of  monks: 

1,515  Assurgit  ponti  medio  circumflua  Gorgon, 

Inter  Pisanum  Cyraicumque  latus. 
Adversus  scopulus  damni  monumenta  recentis: 

Perditus  hie  vivo  funere  civis  erat. 
Noster  enim  nuper  iuvenis,  maioribus  amplis, 

^  Cf.  Juvenal,  14,  96  ff.  Horace,  Epistles,  II,  i,  156.  See  Vessereau's 
edition  of  Rutilius,  p.  289  ff. 


RUTILIUS   NAMATIANUS  1 33 

520  Nee  censu  inferior  coniugiove  minor, 

Impulsus  fiiriis  homines  terrasque  reliquit, 

Et  turpem  latebram  credulus  exul  agit. 

Infelix  putat  illuvie  caelestia  pasci, 

Seque  premit  laesis  saevior  ipse  deis. 

525  Num,  rogo,  deterior  Circeis  secta  venenis? 

Tunc  mutabantur  corpora,  nunc  animi. 

And  finally  we  have  in  Book  2,  41  fF.,  a  bitter  attack  on 
Stilicho  as  betrayer  of  his  country,  in  treating  with  the  Goths, 
and  in  burning  the  ancient  Sibylline  books;  ascribing  to  him 
the  motive  of  desiring  to  "survive  the  Roman  nation."  Such  a 
crime  was  worse  than  the  crimes  of  Althea  or  Nisus,  worse 
than  the  matricide  of  Nero,  for  he  slew  only  his  own  mother, 
while  Stilicho  attacked  the  mother  of  the  world.  Speaking 
first  of  the  way  in  which  the  natural  advantages  of  Italy 
seem  to  insure  it  against  invasion,  he  goes  on: 

Quo  magis  est  facinus  diri  Stilichonis  acerbum, 

Proditor  arcani  quod  fuit  imperii. 
Romano  generi  dum  nititur  esse  superstes, 

Crudelis  summis  miscuit  ima  furor, 
45  Dumque  timet  quidquid  se  fecerat  ipse  timeri, 

Immisit  Latiae  barbara  tela  neci. 
Visceribus  nudis  armatum  condidit  hostem, 

Illatae  cladis  liberiore  dolo. 
Ipsa  satellitibus  pellitis  Roma  patebat, 
50  Et  captiva,  prius  quam  caperetur,  erat. 

Nee  tantum  Geticis  grassatus  proditor  armis; 

Ante  Sibyllinae  fata  cremavit  opis. 
Odimus  Altheam  consumpti  funere  torris; 

Niseum  crinem  flere  putantur  aves. 
55  At  Stilicho  aeterni  fatalia  pignora  regni 

Et  plenas  voluit  praecipitare  colos. 
Omnia  Tartarei  cessent  tormenta  Neronis; 

Consumat  Stygias  tristior  umbra  faces. 
Hie  immortalem,  mortalem  perculit  ille; 
60  Hie  mundi  matrem,  perculit  ille  suam.^ 

Resemblance  of  the  De  Reditu  Siio  to  Horace's  description 
of  his  journey  to  Brundisium  is  not  very  close.  There  are,  it 
is  true,  some  external  points  of   similarity.     Both  narrate  a 

^  Cf.  Claudian,  In  Rufinum  2,  512  ff. 


134      LATIN   SATIRICAL   WRITING   SUBSEQUENT  TO  JUVENAL 

journey,  and  tell  us  their  route,  mention  experiences  and  diver- 
sions met  with,  refer  to  friends,  etc.  There  is  also  some 
Horatian  reminiscence  in  Rutilius,  i,  491  ff., — 

O  quam  saepe  malis  generatur  origo  bonorum! 

Tempestas  dulcem  fecit  amara  moram. 
Victorinus  enim,  nostrae  pars  maxima  mentis® 
Congressu  explevit  mutua  vota  suo. 

Hunc  ego  complexus  ventorum  adversa  fefelli, 
510  Dum  videor  patriae  iam  mihi  parte  frui. 

But  Rutilius'  style  is  more  serious  and  lofty  than  Horace's. 
He  is  prone  to  reflect  on  the  greatness  of  the  past  and  on  prob- 
lems of  the  present,  in  a  way  alien  to  the  rapid,  easy  tale  of  the 
journey  to  Brundisium.  Horace  wrote  in  a  more  humorous, 
intimate,  everyday  manner.  The  lines  of  burlesque  epic  or 
dramatic  style^  which  we  find  scattered  through  his  satire 
have  no  counterpart  in  Rutilius.  He  does  not  indulge  in  the 
long  descriptions  or  thoughtful,  erudite  allusions,  so  frequent 
in  Rutilius.^  We  may  say,  in  general,  that  while  the  travel 
satires  of  Lucilius  and  Horace  may  have  furnished  Rutilius 
a  hint  and  a  suggestion  for  the  composition  of  his  own  poem, 
he  was  far  from  imitating  them  in  style. 

®  Cf.  Horace,  Sermones,  I,  5,  39  fif.,  also  Carmina,  I,  3,  8  animae  dimidium 
meae. 

^9,  10;  24,  51  ff.;  73-4;  etc. 

*  Vessereau,  326.  < 


LUCILLUS 

LuciLLUS,  about  400  a.  d.,  is  known  to  us  only  from  a  ref- 
erence by  Rutilius  Namatianus  in  his  poem  De  Reditu  Suo. 
He  appears  to  have  held  some  political  administrative  office^ 
and  to  have  won  praise  for  his  strict  integrity  in  managing 
public  affairs.  Besides  this  he  was  a  satirist,  one  whom 
Rutilius  deems  worthy  to  compare  with  Turnus  and  Juvenal : 

Huius  vulnificis  satira  ludente  Camenis 
Nee  Turnus  potior,  nee  luvenalis  erit. 
1,605  Restituit  veterem  eensoria  lima  pudorem 

Dumque  malos  carpit,  praecipit  esse  bones. 

We  may  judge  from  this  that  his  satire  was  Juvenalian  in 
style — vulnificis  Camenis;  but  that  also  he  was  a  constructive 
critic  of  his  fellow  men,  not  only  indicating  their  faults,  but 
instructing  them  by  moral  precepts  to  live  rightly .^ 

^  De  Reditu  Suo,  i,  612  ff. 

^  Vessereau,  Claudius  Rutilius  Namatianus,  p.  248  flf.  Ribbeek, 
Geschichte  der  romischen  Dichtung,  3,  368. 


10  135 


APOLLINARIS  SIDONIUS 

C.  SoLLius  Apollinaris  Sidonius,  "the  most  interesting 
literary  figure  of  the  fifth  century,"  was  born  about  430,  at 
Lyons.  He  was  of  a  family  occupying  a  high  social  position, 
and  himself  held  both  secular  and  ecclesiastical  offices  of 
importance.  He  was  " praefectiis  tirbis,^'  and  later  Bishop  of 
Clermont-Ferrand.  The  date  of  his  death  is  not  fixed  with 
certainty,  but  seems  to  have  been  in  the  480's.^  Sidonius 
was  an  ardent  devotee  of  literature  and  rhetoric.  His  poems 
contain  many  classical,  mythological  allusions,  and  his  letters 
were  written  with  the  letters  of  Pliny  the  Younger  and  Sym- 
machus  in  mind  as  models.  Although  a  Christian,  he  pre- 
served largely  the  classical  pagan  atmosphere  about  his 
writings. 

In  one  of  his  letters,^  Sidonius  tells  the  story  of  a  satire, 
and  the  excitement  it  caused,  that  is  worth  recounting  some- 
what in  detail.  It  was  at  Aries,  'Hemporihus  Augusti  Maior- 
iani"  (457-461).  There  suddenly  appeared  an  anonymous 
writing,  full  of  biting  satirical  verses,  which  did  not  indeed 
mention  any  names,  but  severely  attacked  vices,  and,  even 
more,  individuals.  The  allusions  were  so  evident,  in  fact, 
that  certain  men  were  angered  by  them,  and  took  the  lead  in 
attempting  to  discover  the  author.  One  Catullinus  passed 
through  the  city,  on  a  return  from  a  visit  to  his  friend  Sidonius, 
and  on  hearing  portions  of  the  poem,  showed  so  much  amuse- 
ment that  it  was  inferred  that  he  must  be  familiar  with  the 
whole;  hence,  that  Sidonius  must  have  been  the  author  and 
have  read  it  to  him,  previously.     Consequently,  when  Sidonius 

^  Ebert,  Geschichte,  421  note.  Hodgkin,  Italy  and  her  Invaders,  3,  317 
note. 

2  Book  I,  Epistle  11. 

136 


APOLLINARIS    SIDONIUS  1 37 

next  appeared  at  Aries,  he  was  saluted  with  unusual  fervor  by- 
some,  treated  coldly  by  others,  and  openly  avoided  by  still 
others.  On  inquiry  he  discovered  that  he  was  accused  of 
being  a  satirist.  In  astonishment  he  asked  if  the  verses  had 
appeared  in  his  handwriting;  if  not,  it  was  a  little  early  to 
condemn    him. 

The  next  day  the  Emperor  gave  a  banquet,  and  the  guests 
included  both  Sidonius  and  Paeonius,  the  person  hardest  hit 
by  the  anonymus  satirist.  During  the  conversation  so  much 
friction  was  apparent  between  Paeonius  and  others  that  some- 
one remarked,  "  Gentlemen,  your  squabbles  give  a  fine  opening 
for  some  satirist." 

On  this  Maiorianus,  turning  to  Sidonius,  said,  "I  hear, 
Count  Sidonius,  that  you  are  writing  satire." 

"I  hear  so  too,  my  lord,"  replied  Sidonius. 

"Well,"  said    the  Emperor,  "I  hope  you  will  spare  me." 

"I  spare  myself,"  said  Sidonius,  "when  I  refrain  from 
what  is  forbidden." 

"And  what  shall  we  do,"  queried  the  Emperor  then,  "with 
those  who  molest  you?" 

Sidonius  answered,  "My  lord  Emperor,  let  my  accuser, 
whoever  he  may  be,  accuse  me  publicly.  If  he  proves  his 
charge,  I  am  ready  to  pay  the  penalty;  but  if  he  fails  (as  he 
probably  will)  to  make  good  his  case,  then  may  I  be  permitted 
to  write  what  I  like  against  him." 

Paeonius,  though  uneasy,  dared  raise  no  objection  to  this, 
and  the  Emperor  consented,  stipulating  only  that  Sidonius 
should  at  once,  extemporaneously,  make  his  request  in  verse. 
This  he  did,  to  this  effect: 

Scribere  me  satiram  qui  culpet,  maxime  princeps, 
Hanc  rogo  decernans  aut  probet  aut  timeat. 

The  Emperor  then  formally  gave  Sidonius  carte  blanche 
for  his  writings,  remarking  that  he  did  not  approve  of  such 
accusations  being  brought  against  innocent  noblemen  by 
private    enemies. 


138      LATIN   SATIRICAL  WRITING   SUBSEQUENT  TO  JUVENAL 

When  the  dinner  broke  up,  Paeonius,  completely  crushed, 
came  to  Sidonius  and  humbly  besought  him  to  pardon  his 
offence  and  not  write  a  satire  about  him,  which  Sidonius 
graciously  promised  not  to  do,  and  so  the  episode  ended,  to 
the  complete  glory  of  Sidonius  and  the  discomfiture  of  his 
enemies. 

It  is  a  matter  of  regret  that  this  famous  satire  Is  lost  to  us. 
But  the  story  shows  its  general  nature  fairly  clearly,  and 
Hodgkin^  is  undoubtedly  right  in  saying  that  Sidonius  was 
most  probably  the  author  of  it,  after  all.  He  implies  the 
contrary,  it  is  true,  and  affects  to  consider  it  a  most  unjust 
charge,  but  the  very  exaggeration  of  this  attitude,  of  the 
astonishment  which  he  professed  to  feel,  the  general  tone  of 
quiet  enjoyment  and  satisfaction  at  the  situation  pervading 
the  whole  letter,  together  with  his  attitude  toward  Paeonius, 
shown  in  his  resume  of  the  latter's  career,  all  tend  to  show 
that  he  was  really  the  author,  though  he  would  not  own  up 
to  it.  Certainly  there  is  much  more  spice  in  the  affair,  if 
we  adopt  this  view,  than  otherwise. 

We  know  too  that  Sidonius  could  be  satirical,  if  he  felt 
so  inclined.  Carmen  XII,  of  his  poems,  is  a  satire  on  the 
Burgundians  with  whom  he  was  thrown  in  contact,  in  spite  of 
his  modest  disavowal  of  such  a  title  for  his  verses,  in  the  last 
line.  This  was  addressed  to  his  friend  Catullinus,  the  same 
who  appeared  in  the  story  above  related.  Mr.  Hodgkin's 
verse  rendering*  reproduces  admirably  the  spirit  of  the  origi- 
nal, which  is  in  the  hendecasyllabic  meter: 

Ah  me,  my  friend,  why  bid  me,  e'en  if  I  had  the  power, 
To  write  the  Hght  Fescennine  verse,  fit  for  the  nuptial  bower? 
Do  you  forget  that  I  am  set  among  the  long-haired  hordes, 
That  daily  I  am  bound  to  bear  the  stream  of  German  words, 
That  I  must  hear,  and  then  must  praise  with  sorrowful  grimace 
(Disgust  and  approbation  both  contending  in  my  face), 
Whate'er  the  gormandizing  sons  of  Burgundy  may  sing, 

'  Italy  and  her  Invaders,  3,  415. 
*  Italy  and  her  hivaders,  3,  363. 


APOLLINARIS   SIDONIUS  1 39 

While  they  upon  their  yellow  hair  the  rancid  butter  fling? 

Now  let  me  tell  you  what  it  is  that  makes  my  lyre  be  dumb: 

It  cannot  sound  when  all  around  barbarian  lyres  do  hum. 

The  sight  of  all  those  patrons  tall  (each  one  is  seven  foot  high), 

From  my  poor  Muse  makes  every  thought  of  six-foot  meters  fly. 

Oh!  happy  are  thine  eyes,  my  friend:  thine  ears,  how  happy  those! 

And  oh!  thrice  happy  I  would  call  thine  undisgusted  nose. 

'Tis  not  round  thee  that  every  morn  ten  talkative  machines 

Exhale  the  smell  of  onions,  leeks,  and  all  their  vulgar  greens. 

There  do  not  seek  thy  house,  as  mine,  before  the  dawn  of  day, 

So  many  giants  and  so  tall,  so  fond  of  trencher-play 

That  scarce  Alcinous  himself,  that  hospitable  king, 

Would  find  his  kitchen  large  enough  for  the  desires  they  bring. 

They  do  not,  those  effusive  souls,  declare  they  look  on  thee 

As  father's  friend  or  foster-sire — but  alas!  they  do  on  me. 

But  stop,  my  Muse!  pull  up!  be  still!  or  else  some  fool  will  say 

"Sidonius  writes  lampoons  again."     Don't  you  believe  them,  pray! 

The  original  is  as  follows: 

Quid  me,  etsi  valeam,  parare  carmen 

Fescenninicolae  iubes  Diones 

Inter  crinigeras  situm  catervas 

Et  Germanica  verba  sustinentem, 
5  Laudantem  tetrico  subinde  vultu 

Quod  Burgundio  cantat  esculentus, 

Infundens  acido  comam  butyro? 

Vis  dicam  tibi,  quid  poema  frangat? 

Ex  hoc  barbaricis  abacta  plectris 
10  Spernit  senipedem  stilum  Thalia, 

Ex  quo  septipedes  videt  patronos. 

Felices  oculos  tuos  et  aures 

Felicemque  libet  vocare  nasum, 

Cui  non  allia  sordidaeque  caepae 
15  Ructant  mane  novo  decem  apparatus 

Quern  non  ut  vetulum  patris  parentem 

Nutricisque  virum  die  nee  orto 

Tot  tantique  petunt  simul  Gigantes 

Quot  vix  Alcinoi  culina  ferret. 
20  Sed  iam  Musa  tacet  tenetque  habenas 

Faucis  hendecasyllabis  iocata, 

Ne  quisquam  satiram  vel  hos  vocaret. 


SECUNDINUS 

From  a  letter  of  Apollinaris  SIdonius/  addressed  to  his 
friend  Secundinus,  we  learn  that  the  latter  was  a  writer  of 
satirical  verses.  Sidonius  refers  first  to  certain  hexameter 
poems  written  by  him,  which,  however,  dealt  with  pleasant 
subjects,  being  marriage  hymns,  descriptions  of  royal  hunts, 
etc.  But  recently  Secundinus  had  written  a  different  sort  of 
poem.  In  form  it  seems  to  have  been  an  alternation  of  verses 
consisting  of  three  trochees  with  hendecasyllabic  verses — tri- 
plicibus  trochaeis  nuperin  metrum  hendecasyllahiimcompaginatis. 
These  verses  were  full  of  spice,  wit,  and  sarcasm,  but  the 
author  was  apparently  handicapped  in  the  exertion  of  his  full 
powers  by  the  fact  that  he  was  satirizing  actual  personalities 
of  the  day.  Sidonius  compares  with  Secundinus'  verses  a 
veiled  hit  at  the  Emperor  Constantine  composed  by  the  consul 
Ablabius,  and  affixed  to  the  gates  of  the  Palatine: 

Saturni  aurea  saecla  quis  requirat? 
Sunt  haec  gemmea,  sed  Neroniana. 

Por  at  that  time,  he  says,  Constantine  was  suspected  of  having 
caused  the  death  of  his  wife  Fausta  and  his  son  Crispus. 
Sidonius  tells  us  nothing  more  definite  about  this  satire 
of  Secundinus,  but  urges  him  to  continue  to  devote  his  energy 
to  that  branch  of  writing.  He  can  find  plenty  of  material 
in  the  vices  of  the  rulers  of  the  state.  From  these  references 
it  has  been  conjectured-  that  the  object  of  Secundinus'  satire 
may  have  been  Gundobad,  king  of  Burgundy  from  478  to  516. 

1  Book  5,  Epistle  8. 

*  Histoire  Litter  aire,  2,  503. 


140 


LAMPRIDIUS 

Apollinaris  Sidonius,  in  a  letter  to  his  friend  Lupus/ 
makes  us  acquainted  with  Lampridius,  who  seems  to  have 
been  a  Hterary  man  of  some  versatility.  It  was  shortly  after 
the  death  of  Lampridius — he  had  been  murdered  in  his  own 
house  by  a  band  of  robbers — that  the  letter  was  written,  and 
in  it  Sidonius  comments  at  some  length  on  his  dead  friend's 
character,  and  literary  work.  He  wrote,  it  seems,  all  kinds  of 
poetry — epic,  lyric,  bucolic,  georgic,  tragedy  and  comedy  as 
well,  and  also  satires  and  declamatory  orations.^ 

^  "Arpinas  modo  quern  (i.  e.  Lampridius)  tonante  lingua 

Ditat,  nunc  stilus  aut  Maronianus 

Aut  quo  tu  Latium  beas,  Horati, 

Alcaeo  melior  lyristes  ipso, 

Et  nunc  inflat  epos  tragoediarum 

Nunc  comoedia  temperat  iocosa 

Nunc  flammant  satirae  et  tyrannicarum 

Declamatio  controversiarum.     §3. 

Sidonius  praises  his  ability  as  a  writer:  he  was  keen  and 
polished  in  his  rhetoric,  exact  and  fluent  in  his  versification, 
"in  materia  controversiali  fortis  et  lacertosus;  in  satirica  sol- 
licitiis  et  mordax;  in  tragica  saevus  et  flehilis;  in  comica  ur- 
banus  multijormisgiie;  in  fescennina  vernans  verbis,  aestiians 
votis;  in  bucolica  vigilax  parens  carminabundus ;  in  georgica 
sic  rusticans  multum,  quod  nihil  riisticus.''^ 

It  is  obvious  that  from  all  this  rather  extravagant  praise 
we  can  disentangle  no  real  clue  as  to  the  nature  of  the  satirical 
works  referred  to.  It  is  fair  to  infer  that  they  were  in  verse 
form^  but  we  cannot  prove  anything  about  the  subject  matter: 

1  Book  8,  Epistle  11. 

*  Because  Sidonius  divides  his  works  into  orationes  and  poemata,  §5. 

141 


142      LATIN   SATIRICAL  WRITING   SUBSEQUENT   TO   JUVENAL 

whether  he  was  satirizing  definite,  concrete,  contemporary 
evils,  or  more  general,  long-standing  failings  of  mankind, 
such  as  avarice.  But  the  wide  range  of  his  poetical  activity, 
coupled  with  his  reverence  for  ancient  models^  makes  it  probable 
that  his  satires  were  not  due  to  his  own  personal  ira  et  studium, 
but  were  a  product  of  a  desire  to  try  his  hand  at  all  sorts  of 
literary  categories.  In  this  case  their  subject  matter  would 
more  likely  have  been  general  and  universal  than  concrete 
and  particular. 

'§8. 


SALVIANUS 

The  exact  dates  for  the  life  of  Salvianus  cannot  be  told 
with  certainty.  He  seems  to  have  been  born,  however, 
between  the  years  400  and  405,  and  it  is  known  that  he  was 
still  living  when  Gennadius  wrote  his  De  Viris  Illustribus, 
not  later  than  496. ^  Thus  the  span  of  his  life  may  be  taken 
to  coincide  roughly  with  the  fifth  century  of  our  era.  He 
was  born  at  Treves,^  married,  but  afterwards  embraced  an 
ascetic  life,  like  Paulinus  of  Nola,  and  was  long  a  resident  of  a 
monastery,  probably  at  Lerius.  Later  he  went  to  Marseilles, 
became  a  priest,  and  it  was  there  that  he  produced  his  various 
literary  works. 

The  longest  and  most  important  of  the  extant  writings  of 
Salvianus  is  the  De  Gubernatione  Dei,  in  eight  books,  of  which 
the  last  is  unfinished.  This  work  was  written  "to  justify  the 
ways  of  God  to  man."^  That  is,  it  was  written  to  combat 
a  view  gaining  ground  in  the  middle  of  the  fifth  century,  that 
the  value  of  Christianity  was  a  sham,  since  the  Roman  world, 
when  pagan,  had  been  strong,  prosperous,  and  happy,  while 
now,  after  the  universal  adoption  of  the  Christian  religion, 
it  was  being  overrun  by  barbarians  and  suffering  all  kinds  of 
troubles.  How  was  this  indisputable  fact  to  be  explained? 
queried  the  doubters.  It  must  be  that  a  great  mistake  had 
been  made:  it  could  not  be  true  that  God  takes  an  interest  in 
and  actively  directs  the  course  of  human  affairs. 

To  this  Salvianus  replies  that  most  people  are  only  sham 
Christians,  that  the  Roman  world  in  general  is  absolutely 
and  thoroughly  corrupt  and  depraved,  so  that  its  misfortunes 

^  Chapter  68:  vivii  usque  hodie  in  senectute  bona. 
2  ?  Cf.  De  Gubernatione  Dei,  6,  13,  72. 
^  Ampere,  Histoire  Litteraire  de  la  France,  2,  169. 

143 


144      LATIN   SATIRICAL   WRITING   SUBSEQUENT  TO  JUVENAL 

are  nothing  more  than  a  just  punishment  for  its  sins;  and 
that  man,  having  deliberately  neglected  and  disobeyed  the 
mandates  of  God,  has  no  ground  for  complaint  that  God  has 
neglected  him. 

Such  a  treatment  of  such  a  theme  naturally  affords  to  a 
skilful  and  earnest  writer  many  opportunities  for  vivid  pic- 
tures of  contemporary  manners  and  morals, — pictures  which 
are  often  as  vivid  in  their  coloring  as  those  of  JuvenaH  and 
which,  if  trustworthy,^  furnish  an  invaluable  source  for  the 
study  of  social  conditions  under  the  late  Roman  Empire. 
There  is,  as  might  be  expected,  since  the  author  is  a  theologian, 
much  reliance  on  citations  from  the  Scriptures,  and  the  work 
is  dominated  throughout  by  the  half-dialogue  style  which 
continually  introduces  possible  objections,  questions,  and 
counter-arguments  with  an  inquis,  and  is  fond  of  expressing 
itself  as  much  by  rhetorical  questions  as  by  positive  state- 
ments. Whatever  may  have  been  the  depth  of  Salvianus' 
feeling,  he  was  unable  to  put  it  into  words  with  the  force  and 
eloquence  of  an  Ambrose  or  a  Jerome.  The  effectiveness  of 
his  denunciations  is  weakened  by  the  prolixity  of  his  style.^ 

But  in  spite  of  this  it  will  be  worth  our  while  to  examine 
some  of  the  pictures  of  social  and  moral  corruption  which 
Salvianus  draws,  to  observe  his  choice  of  topics,  his  manner  of 
treatment,  and  to  see  in  what  way,  and  to  what  extent,  his 
style  may  be  classed  as  satirical.  His  descriptions  are  at 
least  lively  and  detailed.  "The  sharpest  word  was  not  too 
sharp  for  him,  to  characterize  the  Christian  world  in  general 

*  Norden,  Die  Lateinische  Liter atur  im  Ubergang  vom  AUertum  zum 
Mittelalter,  in  Die  Kultur  der  Gegenwart,  I,  VIII,  3d  ed.,  p.  510. 

*  A  matter  open  to  question,  to  say  the  least.  Salvianus'  tendency  to 
sweeping  general  statements  leads  one  to  fear  that  he  may  be  exaggerating. 
Cf.  Boissier,  La  fin  du  paganisme,  2,  477,  489,  and  Archer  in  the  Encyclo- 
peda  Britannica,  nth  ed.,  s.  v.  Salvian. 

*A  fact  which  Salvianus  himself  realizes:  Arbitror,  immo  certus  sum 
fastidiosam  plurimis  stili  huius  prolixitatem  fore,  etc.  Book  8,  init.  Cf. 
Ebert,    Geschichte,    464. 


SALVIANUS  145 

as  a  cesspool  of  vices."'^  He  makes  no  distinctions  of  national- 
ity, social  position,  or  occupation.  Salvianus  may  have  been 
"a  fifth  century  socialist,"  as  he  has  been  called,^  but  his  satire 
is  not  directed  against  any  class  of  society  in  particular. 
Rich  and  poor,  clergy  and  laity,  nobility  and  slaves,  whether 
in  Gaul,  Spain,  or  Africa,  receive  equally  severe  denunciation 
from  his  fluent  pen.  Society  in  general  is  afiflicted.  Avarice 
and  drunkenness  are  mentioned  as  "those  two  especial  and 
wide-spread  evils, "^  Never  did  there  exist  a  Roman  state 
free  from  fraud,  deceit,  and  perjury.^" 

With  bitterest  sarcasm  he  points  out  how  great  is  man's 
failure  to  obey  the  injunctions  of  the  Saviour.  "We  are  so 
far  from  giving  up  the  other  things  along  with  our  tunics 
that,  if  we  can  by  any  possible  means,  we  will  take  away 
from  our  enemy  both  his  tunic  and  his  pallium.  For  so 
devotedly  do  we  obey  the  mandates  of  the  Lord,  that  it  is 
not  enough  for  us  not  to  yield  to  our  adversaries  even  in 
respect  to  the  smallest  part  of  our  raiment,  unless,  as  far  as 
in  us  lies,  if  conditions  allow,  we  wrest  everything  from  them. 
...  Or  where  is  there  anyone,  who,  if  he  received  one  blow, 
would  not  return  many  for  the  one?  ...  So  far  are  we  from 
doing  good  to  others  with  inconvenience  for  ourselves,  that  we 
all,  for  the  most  part,  measure  our  own  benefits  by  the  dis- 
advantages involved  to  other  people. "^^ 

"You  will  more  easily  find  men  who  swear  falsely,  and 
more  of  them,"  says  Salvianus,  "than  men  who  'swear  not 
at  air. "^2  "Where  are  those  who  love  their  enemies,  who  do 
good  to  them  that  persecute  them,  who  overcome  evil  with 

^  Hauck,  Kirchengeschichte  Deutschlands,  i,  67.  Also  Histoire  Litteraire, 
2,  530;  Ampere,  Histoire  Litteraire  de  la  France,  2,  170;  Boissicr,  La  fin  du 
paganisme,  2,  480. 

*  Archer. 

^6,  13. 

^»7.  15- 
"  3>  6. 
'^  3.  8. 


146      LATIN   SATIRICAL   WRITING   SUBSEQUENT  TO  JUVENAL 

good,  who  turn  the  other  cheek,  who  yield  their  goods  without 
a  struggle  to  the  plunderer?  .  .  .  For  indeed,  with  all  our 
zeal,  and  all  our  strength,  not  only  do  we  not  do  as  we  are 
bidden,  but  even  we  do  the  opposite  of  what  we  are  bidden. 
For  God  bids  that  we  should  all  be  charitable  one  to  another: 
we  injure  each  other  with  mutual  hostility.  God  bids  that 
all  men  should  give  their  goods  to  the  poor:  they  actually 
attack  the  property  of  others.  God  bids  that  everyone  who 
is  a  Christian  should  keep  even  his  glances  pure:  where  is 
there  one  who  does  not  involve  himself  in  the  mire  of 
fornication  ?"i^ 

"The  very  barbarians,  in  the  same  nation,  at  least,  live  at 
peace  among  themselves:  almost  all  Romans  persecute  each 
other.  For  what  citizen  is  not  envious  of  his  fellow?  Who 
displays  the  fullness  of  charity  to  his  neighbor?  .  .  .  Who  is 
as  near  in  heart  as  he  is  by  blood,  who  is  not  on  fire  with  the 
lurid  flames  of  ill-will,  whose  spirit  is  not  dominated  by  rancor, 
to  whom  is  another's  prosperity  not  a  torture?  Who  does 
not  regard  another's  advantage  as  his  own  disadvantage?^^ 
Who  is  so  satisfied  with  his  own  happiness  that  he  is  willing 
another  should  be  happy?  A  new  and  monstrous  evil  is 
abroad :  it  is  a  small  matter  to  one  if  he  himself  is  happy, 
unless  his  neighbor  is  unhappy. "^^ 

Even  in  its  present  perilous  and  miserable  state  the  Roman 

world  is  reckless  and  wicked.      Vice  does  not  require  a  soil 

of  peace  and  security  in  which  to  flourish.     In  the  impending 

wrack  and  ruin  vice  and  crime  alone  are  unharmed.     "Who 

thinks  of  the  circus  when  a  life  of  slavery  is  staring  him  in 

the  face,  who  laughs  while  fearing  death?     We  make  sport 

while  in  fear  of  captivity,  and  placed  under  the  dread  of 

death  we  laugh.     You  would  think  the  whole  Roman  people 

had  in  some  way  become  affected  by  the  Sardinian  herbs; 

"3.9- 

'^  Quis  non   bonum  alterius   malum  suum    credit?     Cf.   Ambroslus,  De 
Nabuthae,    3,    11 :     damnum    vestrum    creditis    quicquid    alienum    est. 
''  5.  4- 


SAL  VI  ANUS  147 

death  and  laughter  go  hand  in  hand.  And  so  In  almost  all 
parts  of  the  world  tears  follow  close  after  our  laughter,  and 
there  comes  upon  us  even  now  that  word  of  our  Lord  '  Woe 
to  ye  who  laugh,  for  ye  shall  weep'."^'' 

Concrete  and  localized  examples  are  drawn  from  the  con- 
ditions prevailing  in  various  cities  of  Gaul  on  the  eve  of  their 
capture   by   the   barbarians.     In   Treves,    and   in    Cologne^^ 
depravity  and  wickedness  had  reached  such  a  point  that  these 
cities  might  be  said  to  have  perished,,  for  all  practical  purposes, 
before   the  invaders  captured   them.     "The  leaders  of   the 
state  reclined  at  feasts,  forgetful  of  honor,  forgetful  of  age, 
forgetful  of  vocation,  forgetful  of  their  own  names,  gorged 
with  food  and  dissolved  in  wine,  with  mad  shouts  and  furious 
revelry, — nothing  less  than  their  senses,  nay,  since  they  were 
almost  always  in  that  state,  their  senses  were  less  than  nothing. ^^ 
.  .  .  "Was  not  this  the  same  ruin  equally  of  material  goods 
and  character?     For  omitting  the  other  things,  since  every- 
thing had  fallen  a  victim  to  the  two  vices  of  avarice  and 
drunkenness  (especial  and  universal  in  that  place),  to  such 
an  extent  finally  did  they  carry  their  mad  greed  for  wine, 
that  the  chiefs  of  the  city  did  not  even  arise  from  their  ban- 
quets when  the  enemy  were  actually  entering.  ...  I  saw 
there  lamentable  things :  there  was  nothing  to  choose  between 
the  young  and  the  old.     There  was  the  same  vulgarity,  the 
same   frivolity;   everything   at    the   same   time — luxury   and 
drinking  and  ruin;  everybody  was  equally  engaged  in  sport, 
and  drunkenness,  and  adultery:  men  full  of  years  and  honors 
gave  themselves  up  to  wantonness  at  the  banquets,  almost 
too  weak  to  retain  life,  but  very  mighty  toward  the  wine, 
infirm  for  walking,  but  powerful  for  drinking,  swaying  and 
trembling  in  their  steps,  but  masters  of  the  dance. "^'•' 

^^  Luke,  6,  25.     7,  1,6. 

1'  The  cities  are  not  named,  but  have  been  so  Identified. 
18  6,  13,  74. 

^^  6,  13,  77-8.     With  the  thought  of  the  last  sentence  cf.  Juvenal,  6, 
95  ff.,  where  also  circumstances  alter  cases. 


148      LATIN  SATIRICAL  WRITING   SUBSEQUENT  TO  JUVENAL 

Salvianus  refutes  the  objection  that  possibly  the  bulk  of 
the  wickedness  of  the  world  may  be  confined  to  the  lower 
classes,  from  whom  little  better  could  be  expected.  For 
men  of  rank  and  wealth  are  equally  bad,  even  worse,  for  they 
add  to  their  other  vices  that  of  hypocrisy.  What  they  con- 
demn in  others,  they  practise  secretly  themselves.  "I  deny 
that  there  is  anyone,  no  matter  how  great  a  crime  he  is  guilty 
of,  who  will  concede  that  he  ought  to  be  punished.  From 
this  it  can  be  seen  how  unjust  and  wicked  it  is  for  us  to  be 
severe  on  others  and  indulgent  to  ourselves;  harsh  to  others, 
lax  to  ourselves.  On  the  same  charge  we  punish  others  and 
forgive  ourselves.  It  is  an  intolerable  presumption  and 
arrogance. "20  "What  rich  or  noble  man  is  there  who  pre- 
serves his  innocence,  or  restrains  his  hands  from  all  crimes? 
Though  I  need  not  have  said  'from  all  crimes', — would  that 
they  even  refrained  from  the  greatest  crimes.  .  .  .  Let  us 
see  if  anyone  is  free  from  those  two  chief  evils,  as  they  may 
be  called,  that  is,  either  from  murder,  or  from  rape.  For 
who  is  there  who  is  not  bloody  from  the  slaying  of  a  human 
being,  or  stained  with  vile  impurity?  Even  one  of  these 
suffices  for  eternal  punishment,  but  hardly  any  man  of  wealth 
has  not  committed  both.''^^ 

Such  a  sweeping  statement  naturally  raises  doubts  as  to  its 
own  accuracy.  But  Salvianus  viewed  the  world  he  lived  in 
through  dark  glasses.  Of  the  Christian  Church  he  says, 
"Except  a  very  few  who  flee  from  evils,  what  else  is  almost 
the  whole  body  of  Christians  than  a  sink  of  iniquity  {sentina 
vitiorum)?  For  whom  will  you  find  in  the  Church  who  is 
not  a  drunkard  or  a  spendthrift  or  an  adulterer  or  a  seducer 
or  a  kidnapper  or  a  gambler  or  a  robber  or  a  murderer?  And 
what  is  worse  than  all  this,  almost  all  these  things  without 
cessation.  ...  I  will  say  much  more:  you  will  more  easily 
find  men  guilty  of  all  evils  than  not  of  all,  more  easily  of  the 

^^^  4,  2.     Cf.  Horace,  Sermones,  I,  3,  20-25. 

''^3.  10,  55. 


SALVIANUS  149 

greater  crimes  than  of  the  lesser,  that  Is,  more  easily  those 
who  have  committed  the  greater  crimes  along  with  the  lesser 
than  those  who  have  committed  only  the  lesser,  without  the 
greater.  "22 

And  again,  he  attacks  the  clergy  in  a  manner  reminding  us 
of  the  satire  of  Jerome. — Their  boasted  sanctity  is  a  sham, 
they  have  changed  their  name  but  not  their  life,  their  dress 
but  not  their  thoughts,  and  they  think  the  sum  of  divine 
worship  lies  in  a  costume  worn,  not  in  deeds.  They  are  not 
satisfied  with  their  change,  but  become  ambitious  for  worldly 
honors  they  lacked  before.  They  pass  by  what  is  permitted 
and  commit  what  is  forbidden:  they  refrain  from  marriage 
but  do  not  refrain  from  rape.2'' 

It  is  much  worse,  comments  Salvianus,  when  evil  is  done 
by  one  whose  position  makes  him  conspicuous  and  likely  to 
serve  as  an  example.  "A  theft  is  a  bad  deed  in  every  man; 
but  without  doubt  a  senator  who  commits  a  theft  is  more  to 
be  condemned  than  some  person  of  lowly  station.  To  all 
men  is  fornication  forbidden;  but  it  is  much  worse  if  one  of 
the  clergy  commits  fornication  than  if  one  of  the  people."  24 

Theatrical  shows,  a  favorite  object  of  censure  for  Christian 
moralists  of  all  ages,  do  not  escape  condemnation  by  Sal- 
vianus. In  fact,  many  forms  of  vice  and  crime,  he  says,  one 
can  discuss  objectively,  but  the  things  done  in  the  theater 
cannot  even  be  named  by  a  good  man  without  shame.  The 
impurities  of  the  stage  are  in  a  class  by  themselves.  One  is 
not  corrupted  if  one  chances  to  witness  a  robbery,  or  to  hear 
a  blasphemous  utterance;  but  in  the  theater  both  actors  and 
audience  are  equally  guilty.2^     And  we  even  dedicate  to  Christ 

223,  9-44-45- 

23  5,  10,  52-55. 

2^  4,  12,  57-58.     Baluzius  compares  Juvenal,  8,  140  f. : 

Omne  animi  vitium  tanto  conspectius  in  se 
Crimen  habet  quanto  maior  qui  peccat  habetur. 

=^^6,  3.  6,  II. 


I50      LATIN   SATIRICAL  WRITING  SUBSEQUENT   TO  JUVENAL 

— O  monstrous  madness — the  spectacles  of  the  circus  and  the 
mime,  a  base  and  filthy  sacrifice.  How  can  we  expect  Heaven's 
favor  for  our  state?  The  churches  are  empty,  the  theaters 
are  filled.  If  one  comes  to  church,  not  knowing  there  are 
games,  and  hears  of  them,  he  leaves  at  once  for  the  circus.^^ 
The  people  are  so  steeped  in  the  love  of  such  things  that  the 
first  request  of  the  people  of  Treves,  after  the  destruction  of 
their  city,  was  for  the  establishment  of  a  circus!  "Where 
would  you  put  it,"  demands  Salvianus  with  bitterest  irony, 
"perhaps  above  the  tombs  and  ashes,  above  the  bones  and 
blood  of  the  dead?  For  what  part  of  the  city  is  free  from  all 
these?  Where  was  blood  not  shed,  or  bodies  piled  up,  or  the 
mutilated  limbs  of  the  slaughtered?  Everywhere  is  the  ap- 
pearance of  a  captured  city,  everywhere  the  horror  of  cap- 
tivity, everywhere  the  presentment  of  death.  The  wretched 
remnants  of  the  people  huddle  above  the  heaps  of  their  dead, 
and  you  call  for  a  circus;  the  state  is  black  from  its  burning, 
and  you  assume  the  countenance  of  festivity ;  all  are  mourning, 
you  are  joyful.'-^ 

The  relations  between  the  sexes  are  shown  to  be  no  less 
terrible  than  those  described  by  Juvenal.  We  have  already 
noticed  the  author's  frank  outright  statement  that  practi- 
cally no  "nobilis"  or  "dives''  was  innocent  of  both  murder 
and  rape,  and  his  equally  bold  challenge  to  produce  a  pro- 
fessing Christian  who  was  not  an  adulterer,  etc.  He  dwells 
on  the  subject  again,  having  the  following  to  say  of  Aquitania: 
"Among  the  Aquitanian  states  indeed,  what  one  has  not 
been,  in  its  richest  and  most  fashionable  part,  practically  a 
brothel?  What  man  of  position  and  wealth  has  not  lived  in 
the  mire  of  lust?  Who  has  not  plunged  himself  into  the 
abyss  of  the  vilest  licentiousness?  Who  has  rendered  to  his 
wife  a  husband's  fidelity?  In  fact,  as  far  as  concerns  the 
submission  to  his  desires,  who  has  not  reduced  his  wife  to 

^'  6,  7,  38. 
"6,  15,89. 


SALVIANUS  151 

the  level  of  a  servant-maid,  and  degraded  the  sacrament  of 
honorable  marriage  to  the  point  where  no  one  in  the  household 
should  seem  to  be  less  valued  in  the  eyes  of  the  husband  than 
she  who  was,  from  the  dignity  of  matrimony,  the  head?"-^ 

But  by  far  the  most  fiery,  vigorous,  and  unrestrained  de- 
nunciation of  the  whole  work  is  that  levelled  at  the  people  of 
the  province  of  Africa.  Most  nations,  says  Salvianus,  have 
some  especial  failing,  but  it  is  usually  in  a  measure  balanced 
by  some  good  characteristic.  For  example,  the  Goths  are 
treacherous,  but  chaste;  the  Alans  unchaste,  but  not  so  treach- 
erous; the  Franks  mendacious,  but  hospitable;  the  Saxons 
extremely  cruel,  but  admirably  chaste.  But  among  the 
Africans  no  good  qualities  can  be  found  at  all.  "Si  accusanda 
est  inhumanitas,  inhiimani  sunt;  si  ebrietas,  ehriosi;  si  falsitas, 
fallacissimi;  si  dolus ,  fraiiduleyitissimi;  si  cupiditas,  cupidissimi; 
si  perfidia,  perfidissimi.''  "I  do  not  include  their  impurity 
and  irreverence  with  all  these  things,  because  in  the  wicked- 
nesses that  I  have  mentioned  they  surpass  the  crimes  of  other 
nations,  but  in  these  respects  they  surpass  even  their  own."^^ 

Then  in  more  detail  he  enlarges  upon  the  sexual  immorality 
of  the  Africans.  It  is  enormous,  it  is  almost  incredible  that 
these  people  can  be  really  human  beings:  it  is  as  rare  and  un- 
heard of  for  an  African  not  to  be  unchaste  as  for  him  not  to  be 
an  African .^*^  "For  I  see  a  state  as  it  were  saturated  with 
vices,  I  see  a  city  teeming  with  all  kinds  of  wickedness,  full 
indeed  of  people,  but  more  so  of  evil,  full  of  wealth,  but  more 
so  of  vice,^^  men  outdoing  each  other  in  turn  in  the  baseness 
of  their  crimes,  some  contesting  in  greed,  others  in  impurity, 
some  feeble  from  drink,  others  stuffed  with  undigested  food, 

287,16. 

"7.  15-64. 

^°  7,  16,  66. 

^1  There  is  an  untranslatable  word-play  here:  video  urbem  .  .  . 
plenani  quidem  turbis,  sed  magis  tiirpiludinibus,  plenam  divitiis,  sed  magis 
vitiis,"  etc. 

li 


152      LATIN   SATIRICAL  WRITING   SUB'^EQUENT  TO  JUVENAL 

these  crowned  with  garlands,  those  smeared  with  unguents, 
all  lost  in  a  varying  dry-rot  of  luxury,  not  all  indeed  intoxi- 
cated with  wine,  but  yet  all  drunk  with  evil  deeds."^^  And 
further:  "As  far  as  concerns  the  common  people,  who  in 
that  so  innumerable  number  has  kept  himself  chaste?  Chaste 
do  I  say?  Who  has  not  been  a  seducer  and  an  adulterer? 
and  that  without  cessation  or  end?  .  .  .  No  matter  how 
diligently  you  might  seek  among  those  thousands,  hardly 
even  in  the  Church  could  you  find  a  chaste  person. "^^ 

Enough  examples  have  been  adduced  to  show  the  nature 
of  the  De  Gubernatione  Dei,  as  far  as  concerns  the  material 
illustrative  of  moral  and  social  conditions  contained  therein. 
The  style  is  highly  rhetorical  and  monotonous,  there  are 
repetitions,  and  the  material  might  have  been  arranged  and 
dealt  with  in  a  more  logical  and  compact  manner.  But  with 
all  these  defects,  the  work  has  its  points  of  interest.  The 
descriptions  of  contemporary  conditions,  though  unrestrained 
and  overdrawn,  are  deadly  in  earnest  and  represent  a  type  of 
satirical  writing  far  removed,  in  its  crudity,  from  the  able 
verses  of  Juvenal,  but  equally  sincere,  if  not  more  so. 

Another  work  of  Salvianus  which  demands  our  attention 
for  a  moment  is  the  work  in  four  books  Adversus  Avaritiam, 
or,  as  the  manuscript  authority  calls  it,  Timothei  ad  ecclesiam 
catholicam.  This  was  written  under  the  pseudonym  of 
Timotheus,  but  there  is  no  doubt  that  Salvianus  was  the 
author,  from  references  in  his  own  other  writings.  This  work 
has  been  called  a  satire  f*  and  the  author's  motive  in  writing 
it,  as  described  by  himself  in  a  letter  to  his  friend  Salonius,'^ 
is  strikingly  like  the  motive  avowed  by  Juvenal  in  his  first 
satire;  "Now  therefore  that  writer  whom  we  are  speaking  of, 
seeing  the  serious  and  manifold  diseases  (morbos)  of  almost 

'2  7,  16,  70. 

''7.  i7>  75- 

'*  Histoire  Littcraire,  2,  524.     Cf.  Ampere,  Histoire  Litteraire  de  la  France 

2,  168. 

'^  Epistle  9. 


'""  SALVIANUS  153 

all  Christians,  and  how  that  by  all  in  the  Church  not  only 
were  all  things  not  counted  of  less  value  than  God,  but  almost 
everything  of  more  value:  for  it  is  evident  that  the  drunken 
reject  God  in  their  drunkenness,  and  the  greedy  in  their 
greed,  and  the  lustful  in  their  lusts,  and  the  bloodthirsty  in 
their  bloodshed,  and  nearly  all  men  in  all  these:  and  this  is  all 
the  more  serious,  because  not  only  are  these  things  most 
outrageously  and  continually  done,  but  they  are  not  even 
remedied  afterwards  by  repentance,"  etc.,  "  .  .  .  .  and  since, 
the  marrow  of  his  bones  being  aflame  with  sacred  zeal,  he 
could  not  do  otherwise  in  such  a  ferment,  he  burst  into  a  cry 
of  pain"  (iti  vocem  doloris  ertipit). 

But  as  a  matter  of  fact,  a  study  of  the  work  fails  to  show 
evidence  for  calling  it  satirical.  It  is  labelled  "Against  avar- 
ice," but  of  avarice  in  the  ordinary  sense  of  the  word,  in  that 
employed  by  Horace,  for  instance,  there  is  no  mention,  and 
consequently  no  censure.  Indeed,  we  may  fairly  infer  that 
parsimony  in  the  possessor  of  great  wealth  would  not  have 
been  counted  so  great  an  evil,  but  even  a  positive  merit,  in 
Salvianus'  eyes, — provided  the  wealthy  man  bequeathed  his 
property  to  the  Church .^"^  The  main  thesis  of  the  whole 
work,  which  would  have  been  twice  as  effective  if  half  as  long, 
is  an  appeal  to  rich  men  to  devote  their  property  to  the 
service  of  God,  instead  of  spending  it  on  secular  affairs.  All 
men  are  sinners  to  a  greater  or  less  degree,  the  author  argues, 
and  in  any  case  are  so  much  indebted  to  God  for  blessings  re- 
ceived that  all  their  property  would  be  small  enough  an  offering 
in  return.  Much  wealth  endangers  the  future  salvation  of 
its  possessor,  as  no  rich  man  can  possibly  go  to  heaven;  and 
this  fact  should  outweigh  all  such  foolish  sentiments  as  the 
desire  to  leave  one's  children  provided  for,  etc. 

There  are  occasional  passages  where  Salvianus  adopts  a 
somewhat  satirical  manner.     For  example,  in  Book  3,  chapters 

^^  Adversus  Avaritiam,  4,  6. 


154      LATIN   SATIRICAL  WRITING   SUBSEQUENT  TO  JUVENAL 

19-20,  is  an  ironical  description  of  the  hypocritical  relatives 
of  the  rich  man,  eagerly  waiting  for  him  to  die,  and  grumbling 
at  his  delay.  "You  see  these  men,  of  the  most  rich  and  splen- 
did mode  of  life,  weeping,  with  sad  faces  and  joyous  attire, 
displaying  to  you  countenances  composed  into  a  sorrowful 
expression,  purchasing  with  their  imaginary  grief  your  heri- 
tage. Who  would  not  be  moved  by  so  great  dutifulness,  by 
such  grief?  or  how,  when  you  see  such  things  as  these,  can 
you  not  forget  yourself?  For  you  see  the  tears  they  squeeze 
out,  the  simulated  sighs,  the  pretended  anxiety,  not  hoping 
that  you  will  recover,  but  waiting  until  you  die;  you  see  the 
eyes  of  all  fixed  upon  you,  as  if  finding  fault  with  the  slowness 
of  your  decease.  .  .  .  See  them,  longing  for  your  heritage 
and  already  dividing  your  substance  among  themselves;  they 
who  do  not  love  you,  but  your  patrimony,  who  even  curse  you, 
through  eagerness  for  your  goods.  For  while  they  impatiently 
thirst  for  your  property,  they  hate  you,  and  look  upon  your 
presence  as  a  rival  and  opponent  to  themselves,  regard  the 
fact  that  you  still  live  as  an  obstacle  and  stumbling-block 
to   their  greed." 

Such  a  description  as  this  is  of  course  real  satire,  against 
a  certain  form  of  avarice,  and  reminds  us  more  of  Horace 
that  the  satire  of  the  De  Guhernatione  Dei.  But  it  is  only 
introduced  by  the  way,  to  show  the  ingratitude  and  lack  of 
appreciation  of  the  sort  of  heirs  who  generally  inherit  one's 
property,  and  hence  the  advantage  of  devoting  it  rather  to 
some  holy  purpose.  But,  contrary  to  what  one  might  suppose, 
the  work  as  a  whole  is  not  a  satire  against  avarice. 


CONCLUSION 

That  type  of  writing  which  we  are  accustomed  to  call 
"satirical"  did  not  perish  utterly  with  the  palmy  days  of 
Roman  literature  any  more  than  it  sprang  into  existence, 
full-fledged  and  unconnected  with  previous  writings,  with 
that  age.  As  we  have  seen,  there  continued  to  be,  from  time 
to  time,  in  the  centuries  following  the  time  of  Juvenal,  various 
avowedly  satirical  poets,  whose  works  have  vanished,  so  that 
they  are  mere  names  to  us,  but  who  were  classed  by  their 
contemporaries — for  publication  at  least — with  the  great 
masters  of  satire  of  an  earlier  day.  And  we  need  not  neces- 
sarily assume  that  the  loss  of  their  writings  indicates  inferiority. 
Too  much  inferior  writing  has  survived,  and  superior  perished, 
to  justify  that.  But  they  were  not,  perhaps,  widely  circulated, 
there  was  less  chance  of  the  preservation  of  one  out  of  few 
copies  than  one  out  of  many,  interest  in  literature  was  grad- 
ually declining,  and  so  for  one  reason  or  another  the  satires  of 
Tetradius,  Lucillus,  Secundinus,  and  the  others,  were  lost. 

In  the  great  world-wide  conflict  attendant  on  the  rise  and 
establishment  of  a  new  religion,  satire  proved  to  be  a  favorite 
weapon  in  the  hands  of  its  apologists.  Keen  minds  trained  in 
rhetoric  or  the  law  were  quick  to  seize  upon  the  inconsistencies 
and  immoralities  of  the  hoary  collection  of  heathen  myths  and 
legends  as  fit  subjects  for  satirical  treatment.  The  con- 
notation of  the  word  will  not  allow  us,  perhaps,  to  speak  of 
these  apologetical  writings  as  "satires,"  but  it  is  entirely 
justifiable  to  regard  them  as  to  a  large  extent  satirical, — as 
works  in  which  a  satirical  style  and  satirical  treatment,  were 
elements  much  relied  on  for  effectiveness. 

Again,  after  the  heat  of  this  conflict  was  over,  after  Chris- 
tianity had  become  the  predominant  religious  faith  in  the 

155 


156      LATIN   SATIRICAL  WRITING   SUBSEQUENT  TO  JUVENAL 

empire,  writers  of  a  satirical  turn  of  mind  once  more  directed 
their  energies  against  vice  and  wickedness  and  folly.  Some- 
times it  is  possible  to  point  out  a  definite  spot  in  the  satires  of 
Horace  or  of  Juvenal  which  may  have  afforded  a  text  or  a 
suggestion  to  another  author.  Sometimes  it  is  a  faint  echo 
of  phraseology,  a  similar  stylistic  device,  or  the  same  general 
tone,  which  stimulates  our  recollection.  Prudentius'  attacks 
on  gladiatorial  shows,  and  his  disquisitions  on  the  luxury 
which  pandered  to  all  five  senses  of  the  body,  remind  us  of  the 
ancient  satirists,  and  so  oftentimes  do  the  keen  and  clever 
diatribes  against  luxury  and  avarice  of  Hieronymus  and 
Ambrosius.^  The  same  thoughts  kept  cropping  out,  and  it 
would  be  strange  indeed  if  in  the  expression  of  these  thoughts 
we  did  not  find  resemblance.  The  main  difference  is  that 
instead  of  grouping  their  thoughts  of  this  nature  into  one  "far- 
rago^' and  calling  it  "a  satire,"  these  writers  were  content  to 
incorporate  them  in  larger  works,  works  partly  of  another  na- 
ture, and  called  by  other  names.  Perhaps  this  was  more  ef- 
fective, as  to  call  a  man  a  writer  of  satire  in  those  days  was 
not  always  to  increase  his  popularity. 

Nor  did  the  element  of  personal  satire  fail  to  manifest  itself. 
We  have  still  two  anonymous  " carmina''  which  attack  indi- 
vidual representatives  of  the  dying  paganism;  we  have  Clau- 

^  The  Christian  preacher  who,  like  Ambrosius,  employs  the  pen  of  satire, 
is  really  the  successor  of  the  wandering  Stoic  or  Cynic  philosopher  who 
preached  on  the  street-corners  in  classical  timees.  He  has  a  more  definite 
status  in  society,  and  the  prestige  of  the  organization  of  which  he  is  a 
member  does  its  share  in  attracting  his  audience;  but  the  "sermon,"  as  a 
moral  discourse,  is  not  so  far  from  the  " sermo"  as  Horace  used  the  word. 
One  needs  merely  to  remember  such  a  passage  as  the  words  of  Stertinius 
in  Horace,  Serm,  H,  3,  77-81,  to  realize  the  similarity: 

Audire  atque  togam  iubeo  componere,  quisquis 

Ambitione  mala  aut  argenti  pallet  amore, 

Quisquis  luxuria  tristive  superstitione 
80  Aut  alio  mentis  morbo  calet;  hue  propius  me 

Dum  doceo  insanire  omnis  vos  ordine,  adite. 


CONCLUSION  157 

dian's  brilliant  epic-satirical  poems  against  Rufinus  and 
Eutropius,  and  Rutilius  Namatianus'  attack  on  Stilicho;  not 
to  mention  such  productions  as  the  ^^ Contra  Vigilantium" 
of  St.  Jerome. 

We  must  not  fall  into  the  easy  error  of  believing  that  after 
the  Golden  Age,  or  even  after  the  Silver  Age,  of  Latin  litera- 
ture, nothing  worth  while  was  produced.  Post-classical 
Latin  has  received  less  than  its  due  attention,  but  it  has  its 
points,  after  all,  and  will  in  time  receive  its  proper  valuation; 
and  readers  will  see  that  in  this  field,  as  well  as  in  the  earlier, 
the  element  of  satirical  writing  occupies  no  unimportant  place. 


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INDEX 


Abuccius,  9. 

Ambrosius,  49,  50,  156; 

life,  70-71;  De  Tohia,  71  ff.; 
De  Helta  et  leiunio,  73  ff.;  De 
Nabuthae,  77  ff. 

Apollinaris  Sidonius,  140,  141; 
life,  136;  and  the  anonymous 
satire,  136  ff.;  poem  on  the 
Burgundians,  138  f. 

Apuleius, 

satires,  14;  Metamorphoses,  14  ff. 

Arnobius, 

life  and  nationality,  31;  Adversus 
Nationes,  31  ff.;  St.  Jerome's 
judgment  on,  36;  value  of  his 
work,  36. 

Ausonius,  37  ff.; 

letter  to  Tetradius,  37-38;  Epi- 
grams, 38;  and  Lucilius,  38-39; 
and  Horace,  39. 

Bion  of  Borysthenes,  3. 

Carmen   ad  Senator  em,  61  ff., 

156. 
Carmen  contra  Paganos,  57  ff., 

156. 

Claudian, 

life  and  nationality,  1 01;  In 
Rufimim,  102-108,  157;  In  Eutro- 
pium,  108-116,  157,  compared 
with  the  In  Rufinum,  116-117; 
and  Juvenal,  117-118;  and  Lucil- 
ius, Birt's  argument,  118-I19; 
De  Bel  0  Gildonico,  119;  Carmina 
minorla,  120. 

Comm  odianus, 

life  and  nationality,  26-27;  Car- 
men Apologeticum,  27;  Instruc- 
itones,  27  ff. 

Conington,  John, 

on  originality   of   Roman    satire, 

2-3- 


Cornutus,  3; 

a  satirist  (?),  9  note. 

Cresconius,  69. 

Crispinus,  7-8. 

Dryden,  John, 
on  satire,  4. 

Fictitious  interlocutor,  20,  29, 
32,  81,  126. 

Hieronymus, 

judgment  on  Arnobius,  36;  life, 
82;  letter  to  Eustochium,  83  fiF.; 
controversial  writings,  92  ff.; 
Contra  Vigilantium,  92-93;  Ad- 
versus Helvidium,  93,  95;  Adversus 
lovinianum,  93-94,  96;  Adversus 
Rufinum,  94;  and  contemporary 
mimes,  98;  as  a  satirist,  98  ff. 

Horace, 

on  Roman  satire,  2,  4;  influenced 
by  Greek  philosophical  moralists, 
3;  not  the  only  satirist  of  his  time, 
7  ff.;  a  reformer,  70. 

loannes  Lydus,  ii. 

Julius  Caesar, 
Anticatones,  9. 

Juvenal, 

spirit  of,  4,  70. 

Lampridius,  141. 

Lenaeus,  9,  12. 

Lucian, 

Aomtos  r)  ovos,  14. 

Lucilius,  5,  7,  12; 

dependent  on  the  Greek  Old 
Comedy,  2. 

Lucilius,  135,  155- 

Lucius  of  Patrae, 

Mera/Aop^wcreis  of,  1 5. 
Maximus  of  Tyre,  3. 
Musonius,  4. 
Old  Comedy, 

and  Roman  satire,  i,  2. 


164 


INDEX. 


16.=; 


Orbilius     Pupilius     Beneven- 
tanus,  9. 

Orientius, 

life,  125;  Commonitoriwn,  125  ff. ; 
and  Juvenal,  128. 

Paulinus  of  Nola,  64  ff. ; 
and  Prudentius,  68. 

Petronius, 

as  a  satirist,  7,  9,  11. 

Philo,  4. 

Pliny  the  Younger,  12. 

Plutarch,  4. 

Prudentius, 

life  and  nationality,  43;  Psycho- 
machia,  43-44;  Apotheosis,  44- 
45;  Hamarligenia,  45-49;  Contra 
Symmachum,  49  ff. ;  and  Juvenal, 

46,  49.51. 
QuintiHan, 

on  satire  as  a  Roman  invention, 

2,  6. 
RutiHus  Namatianus,  11,  135, 

157; 

life,  129;  De  Reditu  Suo,  129  ff., 

as  a  satire,  130  ff.,  and   Horace, 

133-134- 

Salvianus, 

life,  143;  De  Guhernatione  Dei, 
143  ff.;  and  Juvenal,  144,  152; 
Adversus  Avaritiam,  152  ff.;  and 
Horace,  154. 

Satira, 

origin  and  early  use  of  word,  i ; 
use  by  Horace,  i;  definition  of 
Suetonius  (Diomedes),  i. 

Satire, 

as  a  Roman  invention,  2;  in- 
fluenced by  Old  Comedy,  2,  by 
Greek     popular     philosophy,     3; 


difficulty  of  exact  definition  of,  5; 
fundamental  ba.sis  of,  5;  as  a 
"carmen  maledicum,"  6;  subse- 
quent to  Juvenal,  9-10,  155  ff.; 
and  preaching,  70,  156  note;  use 
of  personal  names  in,  99  note, 
123  f. 

Secundinus,  140,  155. 

Seneca, 

satire  on  Claudius,  5,  7,  9,  108; 
Epistle  86,  6. 

Sentius  Augurinus,  12. 

Sevius  Nicanor,  9. 

Silius  (Proculus?),  12. 

S.  Paulini  Epigramma,   121; 
and  Horace,  122  note. 

St.  Jerome.    See  Hieronymus. 

Sulpicia,  42. 

Superstition,  36  note. 

Symmachus, 
Relatio,  49  ff. 

Teles,  3. 

Tertullian, 

life  and  nationality,  16;  style, 
16,  25;  De  Pallio,  17  ff.;  Apolo- 
geticum,  21  ff.;  Adversus  Nationes, 
23  note;  Adversus  Valentinianos, 
23  f. ;  De  Spectaculis,  24;  De 
Cultii  Feminarum,  24;  De  Pudi- 
citia,  24;  De  leiuniis,  24. 

Tetradius,  41,  155. 

Theophrastus, 
De  Nuptiis,  96  f. 

Trebonius,  9. 

Turnus,  11-12. 

Varro,  20. 

Varro  Atacinus,  7. 

Vergilius  Romanus,  12-13. 


7  9  2  0      3 


^ 


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